Choosing a Support Coordinator

What exactly does a support coordinator do?
Support coordinators have myriad duties. The most obvious duties are organizing the annual "Person Centered Service Planning Meeting" to review and set goals for the upcoming year and visit individuals to monitor their health and safety. Some of the behind the scenes duties are to summarize and report back to DSPD each month on all services provided, validate payments for services rendered, monitor budgets, serve as a resource specialist, advocate for additional funds as needs arise, assist and train those wanting to provide "Self-Administered Services", participate in assessments, maintain accurate records, inform individuals and families of all their options, attend school meetings and medical appointments as requested, and last but not least provide encouragement to individuals and families.

What is your educational background related to working with individuals with disabilities? Why did you choose this field of work and how long have you been a Support Coordinator?
David obtained his Special Education Certification from Brigham Young University as a supplement to his Bachelors in History obtained from California State University at Long Beach. Susan obtained her Bachelors Degree from Brigham Young University, majoring in Psychology. For many years we provided direct in-home care for over fifty foster teens. Our fifth child was born with a disability. We both had extensive experience with behavior problems, mental health issues, and disabilities. We had a strong desire to use the knowledge we had gleaned from our personal experience and study to help others improve their quality of life. Helping others has become our passion. Susan began Support Coordination August 1, 2009 and was soon followed by David. We now team up and combine our expertise. We are committed to give exceptional attention to the individuals we serve.

Tell about a time when you successfully helped an individual with disabilities improve his or her quality of life and how you were able to do it. 
“Quality of life” strikes at the core of support coordination. Everything we do as support coordinators is to ensure the individual’s quality of life. We assess each individual’s situation from the perspective of having a daughter with a disability. We ask ourselves, “Would this quality of life be acceptable for my loved one?” If so, then we seek to maintain that quality. If not, we make a personal assessment and consult with the individual and their guardian. Ensuring quality of life for the individual’s we serve has included making sure individuals know they have options and what those options are, changing providers as needed, implementing goals that address needed change, responding quickly to needs, and contributing to behavior plans. We have attended diabetic clinics, written diet plans approved by the clinic, made picture grocery lists, trained provider staff on cooking methods, taught nutrition to individuals and staff, sponsored tasting parties, attend school planning meetings, attend doctor visits, and reunited individuals with loved ones.

What is your business experience? Describe your ability to manage paperwork, finances, taxes, and the aspects of being self-employed?
David's previous background in Special Education familiarized him with the IEP process, and managing goals and plans. Susan's previous employment working for an accounting firm has been valuable in teaching attention to detail, managing paperwork, and acquiring organizational skills. Self-employment allows one to set your own schedule, which translates into better concentration and higher productivity. These are critical skills that translate into the ability to advocate with DSPD.

Are you confident in your ability to advocate for our needs with your DSPD Supervisor and other DSPD Personnel?
We are absolutely confident in our ability to advocate for your needs with DSPD. Susan worked for DSPD as the intake worker for one year prior to becoming a private Support Coordinator. She left on very good terms. Since that time, we have worked closely with DSPD and there is a mutual respect between us. One of the things that are required to advocate for your needs is good record keeping. When the treatment team feels the individual needs more funding and submits a request, one of the first things DSPD does is check the log notes to see if there is a history of documentation supporting the request. We are able to advocate for your needs because our detailed record keeping supports your needed requests.

What do you see as your role in the individual's life?
Aside from basic Support Coordination duties our role is flexible depending on individual need. We look for cue's that help us discern what kind of involvement is desired and needed. For example we have several individuals who we are required to visit on a bi-monthly basis in their homes. Because they have State Guardians and very little family involvement we are inclined to drop by and see them more frequently. We see them at the grocery store and other community places and have frequent phone contact with them that are not considered as required contact. Our role is also as a friend because they need that. On the other extreme, we serve individuals who may live at home with family members who have very busy lives. We keep our visits short and to the point out of respect for their time. We have also worked with individuals who cannot communicate, but whose primary caretaker is more isolated and desires monthly visits when only quarterly visits are required. We are happy to know they feel comfortable enough to express this need to us and adjust our visitation accordingly.

Are you familiar with disability rights and protection under the law? Have you had successful experiences working with DSPD and other agencies and organizations? 
Because we provided a licensed DCFS structured foster home for 19 years, we have had extensive training related to CPS - Child Protective Services, DCFS - Division of Child and Family Services, and APS - Adult Protective Services. We have personally been through the guardianship process, which protects individual rights of those with disabilities. We have attended many IEP - Individual Education Plan Meetings with multiple school districts. Making sure that individual rights are protected is one of the things that we monitor.

How often do you make visits to the individuals on your caseload?
The minimum frequency of visitation is dictated by DSPD. It is dependent on the service code the individual is using. For instance the code RP1 is used for respite with individuals living with their families. The visitation schedule requires a face to face in the home every 90 days. Any visits that occur beyond that are based on our professional judgment or at your request. It is important to keep in mind that we respect your time and that often home visits occur during a hectic time of day for families when other school children are coming and going and need your attention. Meeting the individual’s needs should not mean long drawn out meetings that infringe on your family time. That does not mean that we would not attend an IEP meeting or attend a medical appointment because the minimum requirement had already been met. Good Support Coordinators are willing to assist families where their expertise and encouragement are needed.

Describe what you do when you make a visit to the individual. What things do you monitor during a visit? Where do you prefer to meet with the individual? 
During visits we monitor for health and safety issues of the individuals we serve. This monitoring is less intrusive for individuals who live in the homes of their family and more so when care is provided by a paid professional. For example, one day Susan went to visit someone living in a group home. She went in the bedroom and noticed that the metal bed frame was backwards. The box spring and mattress had been placed on the frame with the frame protruding about 8 inches into the aisle where the individual was walking to work the television set. It looked like a potential injury. She pointed this out to the provider and asked them to correct it while we went on another visit. We came back to the home to document that the correction had been made to ensure safety. We also audit records while on visits. For individuals living with their family this usually occurs annually, but for service providers this usually occurs throughout the year. We also visit with the individual and get to know them. This is very important in helping them articulate their wants and needs at the planning meeting. There may be something very important to them that they forget to bring up at a critical moment.

What are the advantages of a small vs. a large company?
Those who advocate choosing a large company might suggest that with more support coordinators within the company you would be able to choose from among them or switch support coordinators with less inconvenience. They could point out the greater combined knowledge base of a large company over a single owner company, or that there are many support coordinators to cover for one another during vacation absences. Those advocating for a small company may point out that the  large company owner potentially has the ability to assign you to another support coordinator at any time as a "business" decision. I have worked for a large company and now run my own small company. It is my opinion that none of these are issues that I would base my decision on. A company owner that would switch you to another support coordinator without your endorsement runs the risk of alienating you which would be foolish as you could request another Support Coordination Company at any time. As to covering for one another and sharing knowledge, I don't see that a larger company has any advantage. Most support coordinators knew each other well before support coordination became privatized. We freely email one another with suggestions, questions, and resource information. The same applies to coverage for vacation absences. COMPASS UT belongs to the Utah County Emergency Coalition. The coalition consists of five Support Coordination companies with an agreement to provide short term coverage for one another. All of the members of this coalition worked together and have remained friends in spite of being "business competitors." This is the spirit of cooperation that typically exists in the field of Support Coordination.