Family & Conservator Partnership
Family & Conservator Partnership: Our Person-Centered Approach
Our Commitment to Family Partnership
BIM Supportive Living LLC recognizes that positive, respectful relationships with family members and conservators are foundational to the success and stability of each client's placement. Families and conservators provide valuable history, insight, advocacy, and support and are important members of the client's planning team.
What Person-Centered Care Means at BIM
Supportive Living Services remain client-centered. Services are guided by the client's assessed needs, expressed preferences, choices, rights, Individual Program Plan, and preferred method of communication. BIM actively supports each client's autonomy, dignity, community participation, personal relationships, and ability to make informed choices to the greatest extent possible.
When Preferences Differ
When the preferences of a family member or conservator conflict with the client's expressed wishes, developmental needs, legal rights, staffing requirements, roommate considerations, community participation, health and safety, or BIM's regulatory and employment responsibilities, BIM will give primary consideration to the client's rights and person-centered goals, consistent with any lawful authority granted to the conservator.
Working Through Concerns Together
BIM works collaboratively with the client, conservator, family, Regional Center, and other authorized members of the planning team to resolve concerns. No family member or conservator may direct personnel decisions, interfere with another client's rights or confidentiality, create unsafe working conditions, or require services outside the client's authorized plan or BIM's approved service model. Unresolved disagreements may be referred to the Regional Center and the client's planning team for review and resolution.
Protecting Every Client's Privacy
BIM will not disclose a roommate's diagnosis, services, behaviors, schedule, preferences, personal concerns, communications, health information, or other confidential information. Staff may acknowledge that a concern was received but cannot discuss another client's circumstances or care.
COMMUNICATION
Our organization values open communication with the families and support networks of the individuals we serve. We also have a responsibility to provide our employees with a professional workplace where they are treated with dignity and respect.
To support both goals, concerns regarding a client's services, care, or staff should be communicated directly to the House Manager, appropriate member of management, or Director. This provides families with a clear point of contact and allows concerns to be reviewed and addressed through the appropriate process.
Communication Regarding Staff
Families are encouraged to communicate concerns and provide feedback regarding the services their family member receives. However, concerns regarding an employee should not be addressed directly with that employee.
This includes concerns or comments regarding an employee:
· Job performance or conduct;
· Continued employment or suitability for a particular assignment;
· Health or personal matters;
· Physical abilities or limitations; or
· Appearance or other personal characteristics unrelated to the services being provided.
If a family has a concern about an employee or the quality of services being provided, the concern should be directed to the House Manager, management team, or Director by phone or in writing. Management will review the concern, determine the appropriate response, and communicate with the employee when necessary.
This process does not prevent routine communication between families and direct-care staff when necessary to support a client. Its purpose is to ensure that complaints, personnel concerns, and employment-related matters are handled by management rather than directly between families and employees.
Respectful & Professional Boundaries
As a California employer, our organization has a responsibility to maintain a professional workplace consistent with applicable state employment and workplace protections. Employees should be able to perform their responsibilities without fear of harassment, intimidation, threats, repeated unwanted contact, or inappropriate comments concerning their employment, health, safety, appearance, or personal characteristics.
A concern directed personally toward an employee can affect not only that individual but also the larger team responsible for providing consistent services to our clients. For that reason, management asks families to allow leadership to address personnel concerns through the appropriate internal process.
Our hiring and employment practices include background checks, employment verification, and ongoing staff training. While these processes cannot guarantee that every employee will be the right fit for every client, every employee is entitled to be treated respectfully while concerns about their performance are appropriately reviewed.
Our Commitment to Clients, Families & Staff
Issues involving inappropriate family-to-staff communication have been uncommon within our organization, and we want to keep it that way.
Our responsibility extends to both the individuals receiving our services and the 45+ staff members who provide those services every day. Supporting our clients effectively requires an environment where families can raise legitimate concerns and employees can perform their work knowing those concerns will be handled fairly and professionally.
Moving forward, we ask everyone involved in our services—leadership, coworkers, clients, and families—to help maintain a culture in which people feel valued and respected.
We appreciate families continuing to communicate openly with us and allowing our management team to address concerns through the appropriate channels.
