In 1971, the Washington legislators made the decision to start transferring people from State-operated institutions to supported, community based residential programs. The decision was a very bold one, as the general public was anxious about having people with developmental disabilities living alongside them in their neighborhoods. The first individuals released from the state facilities were higher functioning and believed to have the greatest capacity to smoothly transition into community based living.  As a part of the de-institutionalizing process, the state required that individuals placed in residential support programs also have access to day centers.  These centers were to be governed, in policy, by a Board of Directors comprised of community members.  

As a result, in October 1971, Diversified (then C & L Training Centers) was started for the purpose of providing life, social and vocational skill training to individuals with developmental disabilities.  The organization was located in the former Brig building of the decommissioned Air Force base at Paine Field in Snohomish County, Washington.  The building was painted, cleaned up and made ready for its new occupants.

Prior to the establishment of centers like Diversified, there were very few resources that provided this type of training to people with disabilities. The first group of individuals placed at Diversified spent their days rolling clay beads and cutting out wooden animals. As the staff members became more familiar with skills and abilities of their employees, clay bead production was eventually replaced with making brightly colored flowerpots for sale, while the creation of wooden animals was replaced with simplistic assembly work.

In 1976, Diversified’s Board of Directors decided to change the organization’s name from C & L Training Centers to Creative Learning Center.  To more adequately house the growing company, they decided to purchase a larger building, which was a former Seventh Day Adventist School in Everett. The company was now able to expand the services it was providing. Individuals were taught how to utilize public transportation, make purchases at local businesses, and develop personal hygiene skills; when available, they would also do work on a variety of assembly jobs.  In 1985, the Board again decided to change the agency’s name; from then on the agency has been known as Diversified Industrial Services. 

In 1988, Diversified came into contract with The Boeing Company to provide part assembly services for them.  To accommodate the growing commercial involvement, an expansion was added to the building in Everett.  Shortly thereafter, the company outgrew the facility. Additional manufacturing facilities were leased on Everett Mall Way.  Due to continued growth and frustration with the separated facilities, in 1993, the Board decided it would be appropriate to construct a 25,000 square foot facility at 13008 Beverly Park Road in Mukilteo, Washington. All manufacturing and assembly processes were now consolidated to one location, very near Boeing. This is where Diversified stands today.

Diversified also has a major recycling and woodworking center located at 36th Street in Everett. Rubatino Refuse Company contracts with Diversified to recycle all plastic, aluminum, and glass bottles that are collected within their service area. Workers with developmental disabilities operate a modern recycling line that allows Diversified to compress and bale the end materials to be sold and reused again in the industry.

On January 12, 2001, Diversified purchased Marvel, an organization that was founded in late 1957 by a local group headed by Marvel Douglas. Marvel provided training opportunities and support to find meaningful employment for individuals with disabilities. Originally established as the Snohomish County Center for the Handicapped, Marvel had a long history of also providing wood stakes and lath for land surveyors, construction firms, and governmental public works departments. In addition, Diversified now also builds political stakes for candidates.

In 2002, Diversified purchased Cedar Concepts and merged their operations into the woodworking portion of the business. Cedar Concepts specializes in making custom cedar vents for use in foundations and attics to provide necessary airflow for houses and buildings.