THE MIDSTEP APARTMENT PROGRAM

This residential program consists of eight two-bedroom apartments that represents "home" to sixteen individuals. As the name implies, this living arrangement offers a "midstep" between the group homes and the organization's semi-independent living programs. Similar to the group homes, 24 hour training and support is provided. The program's more flexible staffing pattern assures less intense supervision as individuals gain competencies. Unlike a group home, the individual lives with only one roommate in a private apartment. Residents assume far more personal responsibility for their day-to-day routines and activities.

While living in their own apartments, residents still have staff available 24 hours a day (in a manager's unit) to facilitate skills training, support and community integration. Residents receive training on such issues as budgeting, meal planning and preparation, grocery shopping, recreation and leisure activities, and community social skills. The individual resident plays an important part in determining training priorities and making decisions that affect their life-style. When assistance is needed, families and advocates are considered valued members of the resident's support team.

Our agency is committed to the person centered planning process. A person-centered approach means that the individual and/or the individual's family members/significant relationships drive all planning. It is a process that guides people in developing a plan for the future and a means of implementing that plan. The heart of a person-centered approach is the development of the person-centered plan. Creativity, imagination, and collaboration are essential to developing the plan and finding resources that close the gap between the vision and the reality in a person's life. They are the vehicle for building on the person's capacities and for searching for opportunities in the community.