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- Think about what things are most important to you
and your family member and let prospective
agencies know that these are non-negotiable.
- Avoid making assumptions about what a support
provider will or will not do. Always ask.
- Keep track of promises and agreements made with
support providers and write them down.
- Save all of the information you gather in a
binder to assist in organizing your thoughts
about service providers and options.
- Be careful in wording questions to assure you get
the information you need.
- Do not accept vague or incomplete answers to your
questions. When this occurs, ask the person to
respond in a more clear manner.
- Listen carefully to the language used by staff.
Words often convey agency-wide attitudes and a
lot about the agency’s philosophy.
- When asking questions to find out how the agency
does things, use examples from your family
members life. Ask staff how they would handle
“real-life” situations that are likely
to come up.
- Compare the degree to which the agencies to whom
you speak appear to be interested in providing
supports to your family member.
- Keep track of whether the persons to whom you
speak ask questions about the preferences and
needs of your family member and the type of
supports you desire.
- Pay attention to how informed staff are about
community resources. It is likely that if staff
are not knowledgeable about such resources,
residents will rarely be able to use them.
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