The
The
The
first setting is well-known as the traditional “Group Home.”
In this setting, several individuals may reside in their own home
and receive the ongoing support of staff.
The staffing supports that these individuals receive is not only
based upon each person’s needs but is also provided within the overall
context of assuring the person’s health, safety and well-being.
As
suggested above, each Group Home is viewed from the perspective of being
the person’s home. In
this way, support staff are both trained and instructed to provide
supports in a way that minimizes the perception that the home is a
“work-place” but conversely to make it a place that each person
can call “home.” Hence
our tendency to refer to these settings as “homes where persons live”
rather than a “Group Home.”
As
a result, each home is supported by several key figures to ensure that
each person lives their lives to the fullest.
The key to the successful provision of services is the role of the
direct support professional or support staff
commonly known as
Residential Instructors. It
is these well-trained staff that provide the hands-on or one-on-one
supports that each person receives according to their level of need.
Without the work of dedicated Residential Instructors, persons in
the homes would not be able to live their lives to the fullest.
By
necessity each home has a supervisor
or
Manager
responsible
for the overall operation of the home which includes but is not limited to
the coordination of overall supports, the oversight of the entire physical
plant and the staffing schedule/maintenance of the program.
Accordingly, the Manager not only becomes a key figure with regard
to the home’s function, but more importantly the “central figure”
that each client can access regularly for information and assistance.
Each
home also has a
Service
Coordinator
who functions in the role of overall liaison between
each individual receiving services and their State Social Worker
– referred to as a Division of
Developmental Disabilities or
“DDD”
Caseworker
(referred to
above). The Service
Coordinator is a key figure in assuring quality assurance for each
individual by assisting in the development of each person’s annual Support
Agreement or contract
with the agency as well as their documented goals for the coming year
outlined in the annual Individualized Plan (IP).
So
that each individual is able to attain the highest degree of physical and
emotional wellness, each home also receives the services of a Registered
Nurse
(medical oversight) as well as a
Psychologist
(emotional health).
These individuals follow each person by providing ongoing
evaluation and assessment and assisting the residential instructors with
guidelines and treatments/supports to best attain full and meaningful
living for each person receiving services.
The
This
same structure of supports is also present in the agency’s
Apartment Program. In this
program – as compared to the 24 hours per day, 7 days per week component
of the Homes, the agency supports individuals who live semi-independently
in their own apartments providing these more autonomous persons with the
supports they need to live as independently as possible while providing 24
hour access
to staff when they need it. In
some cases depending upon their needs, individuals may also receive
“round the clock” supports in their apartments.
The
third component of the Residential Services rendered by the
Although
the agency’s residential program provides supports within different
settings, the services are rendered within the context of the philosophy
of the agency’s mission – to “advance
independence and opportunities for persons and their families and to
provide these supports in a manner that maximizes their participation in
society as well as to become included members of their community.”
Of course, this is accomplished utilizing a
person-centered
approach which in and of itself requires interaction and supports
consistent with each person’s method of communication and
developmental/learning style.
Recognizing
that not
every individual may be able to live independently and support him or
herself exhaustively, the fundamental objective of the residential program
is to provide the minimum level of support
necessary to provide each person the opportunity to manage their own life
and enjoy maximum independence. This
is accomplished – as our mission statement relays
- by providing each individual the needed assistance to make
choices, develop and maintain relationships, to engage in life experiences
and to live their lives with dignity and respect.