RHD’s Shared Living program featured on Inside Keloland
August 14, 2017
RHD Shared Living director Kelli Anderson was featured on Inside Keloland talking about RHD’s Shared Living program in South Dakota. Watch the video here
RHD’s Shared Living program develops housing and community-based support services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Shared Living provider is a community-based, family-oriented home that offers people the ability to participate and contribute to the household, while promoting personal growth and independence. Shared Living providers receive extensive support, training, and ongoing oversight in order to support and assist the individual in service. RHD combines housing and a full array of community supports to help individuals achieve stability and live successfully in the community.
Shared Living model has two lines of service: Companion Care and Host Home models. Companion care is when an individual with disabilities lives in their own home, controls the daily structure and routine of the home and an organization hires employees to live in those home with individuals. Host Home model (what we are doing) is where individuals and Shared Living Providers (who are independent contractors of RHD-not employees) open their homes and lives to share with individuals served by RHD.
The individuals that RHD will be seeking placement for are those coming from state institutions i.e. South Dakota Developmental Center, Human Services Center and LifeScape formally called Children’s Care Hospital and School. These individuals will be adults at least 21 years old. Prior to determining if a person is a good fit for Shared Living, a thorough assessment is completed with all the people that know the individual best. This assessment takes roughly three to four hours to complete. RHD thoroughly reviews documentation and interviews several people to gather all needed information to make an educated decision on if the individual is able to be successful in this environment, given the right Shared Living Provider match.
Once the individual is accepted into our program, we begin the transition of moving from the institution to the Transition Home, which is located in Sioux Falls. This home will give the individual and interested Shared Living Provider time to meet and get to know each other to determine if it would be a good match. The Transition Home is staffed 24/7 and has staff who are awake during the sleeping hours. Providers and individuals can then take approximately 30-90 days to determine if they want to move forward with the services of moving into the interested Shared Living Providers home.