FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Are there special skills or experience I need to be a home provider?
No professional qualifications are necessary, but anyone wishing to provide support in their home must be responsible, caring, and successfully complete the training and screening process. You must be willing to take CPR/first aid and other training and be open to regular communication, oversight and ongoing support from your developmental services agency. Your home must also meet fire, safety and health standards.
Q: What staff support will there be — how often and what things will they assist me with?
Once the home sharer has moved in, the developmental services agency will provide you with flexible support that is adapted to your needs to ensure a successful and ongoing relationship. Agency staff will act as a liaison between all parties to ensure that everything runs as smoothly as possible.
Q: What is involved in the screening and matching process?
To give each pairing the greatest chance of success, you and all other potential home providers undergo a screening process, including interviews with all people living in your home, and a thorough background check including a police records check. This also includes a review of personal references, a home and property inspection, and a confirmation of current home and vehicle insurance. Lastly, you will need to take an oath of confidentiality.
Q: What is “respite” and how does it work?
“Respite” means services and supports that are provided to a person with a developmental disability by a person other than the primary home provider. The purpose of respite is to provide temporary time off for you, including vacation time. The developmental services agency you are working with for LifeShare may have respite options available to you.
Q: How do I qualify?
It comes down to everyone being mutually compatible. A home study, which involves a few hours in your home, helps to identify if you will be a good fit together. Visits will then be staggered, over increasingly longer periods of time, as you adjust to your new, combined home.