By Karen Gutierrez
Enquirer staff writer

BURLINGTON - Karen Beck doesn't talk much. When she wants something, she gestures. A hand in the pocket means shopping. A flick of the wrist means bathroom.

"Flushing the toilet, I guess," Mckenzie Allen says of her friend's restroom signal. "I never really figured that one out."

No matter. Mckenzie may be only 7 and Beck 38, but they are best friends, and they understand each other well. The two live in one of Northern Kentucky's most unusual households - one that could be a model for the rest of the state.

In Kentucky, people like Beck don't have many options. The state has one of the worst records in the nation for placing mentally delayed adults in small, family-like homes as opposed to institutions, says "The State of the States in Developmental Disabilities," an annual report by the University of Colorado.

Across Kentucky, 2,437 people are on the waiting list for community-based services. Two years ago, the state was sued in federal court over the inadequacy of its programs.

In Northern Kentucky, a non-profit agency called the Point/ARC is charging ahead with its own solution. Operating on a shoestring budget and depending heavily on volunteers, the Point has opened or taken over seven small group homes in the last 10 years. It's in the middle of a $3 million capital campaign to help reach another goal: Starting next year, it plans to open an additional two homes a year.

In many cases, property has been donated to the Point by elderly parents who want to make sure their disabled children will have a home after they're gone. In keeping with that spirit, The Point hires only live-in caretakers, as opposed to the shift staffing more typical of the industry.

Employees don't come and go on time clocks at Point homes. Instead, they form the core of something like real families, complete with outsized personalities, inside jokes, small joys and daily irritations.

Karen Beck and Mckenzie Allen live in one such world.

Mckenzie's parents, Todd and Shilo Allen, are the caretakers of a Point home in Boone County. There are nine residents: The Allens and their three children, all younger than 8, and four adults with mental delays.

Somehow, it works.

Franklin Clifton, 60, is affectionately known as "Snugglehead" and "Papaw Franklin." His bedroom is full of stuffed animals, racecars, snow globes and baseballs. The kids love to visit.

Scott Brown, 48, is a big Elvis fan who frequently walks around with a white guitar slung around his neck.

Gary Love, also 48, finds the guitar thing annoying. Then again, he has his own favorite pasttime: the watching of old Westerns on his bedroom TV.

Both men recently turned 49. Mrs. Allen is threw a party with an Elvis/John Wayne theme.

Her husband is originally from Northern Kentucky, but the couple had been living in Mrs. Allen's home state of Texas, where Mr. Allen was a truck driver.

About two years ago, he switched jobs and the family moved to Northern Kentucky. Mrs. Allen learned of the caretaker position from her husband's stepmother, who runs another Point home. Having cared for a multiple sclerosis patient in high school, she thought she would like it. And she does.

Love, Beck, Brown and Clifton all have jobs during the day, assembling parts or packing boxes. The Allens cook, clean, chauffeur and plan social outings.

Every other weekend and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the day, the couple gets time off. But Mrs. Allen, 27, can't help calling to check in when she's gone.

"I want my breaks, I want my weekends, but I'm ready to go back on Monday," she says. "I miss them when I don't work."

She's motivated partly by the progress she sees, especially in Beck. Mrs. Allen was told Beck knew only three words, but she clearly recognizes more, and she has blossomed in the family setting.

Beck and Mckenzie play outside together, string beads on necklaces and paint each other's nails.

"At first, I was really nervous because I didn't know what these people were like," says Mckenzie, whose family's living quarters are in the basement. "I stayed downstairs, until one day I went upstairs, and I got used to them. I've been upstairs ever since."

This month, togetherness has been especially important, because Mr. Allen, an Army reservist, has been sent to Iraq.

At a recent family cookout, Clifton reflected on the situation.

"I know she misses him not being with her to help her with the kids," he said.

Then he turned to Mrs. Allen, who was listening quietly nearby.

"You've got us guys to help you take care of the kids," he said.

"You do a good job," she replied.

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The Point is looking for live-in caretakers to manage future homes. For information, call 859-491-9191.

E-mail kgutierrez@enquirer.com