The Fontana Rehabilitation Workshop, Inc. was founded in 1964. Its primary purpose was to provide continued programs and activities for the growing number of students with disabilities graduating from Slover Special School and other special education classes throughout the Fontana School District.
In 1965, the workshop separated from the school district. The organization received a grant from the Department of Mental Health, allowing it to hire a Director and relocate to the "old post office building" on Wheeler Avenue in Fontana. A staff of volunteer workers assisted adults with disabilities in the first activities of making pot scrubbers out of nylon net, wrapping dates in
aluminum foil, packaging hobby
stamps, and other simple assembly-type jobs. In 1974, The FRW filed a fictitious business statement, adopting the name Industrial Support Systems.
With the expansion of services and population, the organization outgrew the facility on Wheeler Avenue and some of its programs had to be relocated to other sites in the San Bernardino and Rialto areas. In 1993, with the assistance of community block grant money from the County of San Bernardino, the site on Almeria Avenue was purchased.
The organization presently serves 100 individuals with disabilities on a daily basis. Subcontracted work has become a more sophisticated training tool for consumers, and includes contracts with the federal government to package
and assemble military badges. In addition, the company provides othe
r fulfillment jobs like assembling and packaging sporting goods, pet products, and other consumer goods.
Consumers are trained in grounds and janitorial maintenance. They perform these tasks on both residential and commercial accounts. Industrial Support Systems has contracts with state and County agencies to provide janitorial and grounds maintenance.