The Parsons State Hospital Endowment Association initiated the start up of the Screen Printing department in April of 1988. The enclave began with four employees and one direct care staff member, it currently employs seven and is supervised by two direct staff members. Two of the current employees were initially hired when the enclave began. The Endowment Association provided funding to purchase a four color/two station printer a used dryer and various colors of textile inks. Initially the Enclave averaged one or two small jobs a month and solely depended on word of mouth for advertisement, this allowed ample amount of time for resident and staff training. Many long evenings, and countless hours were invested on trial and error printings, as there were very few resources for training the screen printing field. 
All art work was performed by hand and would require hours of tedious preparation for the simplest one color designs. Over the years of continued great support from the community and surrounding area the Enclave has steadily grown to provide real work and develop essential work habits and skills to residents successfully work in the community or a sheltered work shop. The Screen Printing department now has two printers and are capable of printing five color custom made designs, four color process, or a basic one color with a number on the back for various athletic events. There is a variety of shirts to choose from, ranging from basic 50/50 heavyweight tees, tank tops, sleeveless tees, to fleece and pocketed Polo's. The Screen Printing department can also supply you with caps of various qualities and colors at a reasonable price.

The Screen Printing area can be contacted Monday thru Friday, 8:00am - 4:00pm at 620-421-6550 extension 3275.