"The mission of Hope Community Resources, Inc., shall be to provide services and supports requested and designed by individuals and families who experience disabilities, resulting in choice, control, family preservation and community inclusion."

Hope's residential services embrace this mission by ensuring that individuals and families are involved to the fullest extent in a person-centered planning process, which is fluid, dynamic and creative. Person-centered planning processes explore an individual's values, choices, and preferences and ensure that these are incorporated within the delivery of all services. As part of the ongoing planning process, individual's receiving services are made aware of services available to them. All person-centered planning processes offered at Hope include two major components: a Personal Futures Plan and an Individual Service Plan.

The Personal Futures Plan is the driving force in directing agency supports. The Personal Futures Plan is a broad statement of dreams and goals developed by the individual and his or her Person Centered Team. Hope facilitates the individual's personal selection of planning team members from among their friends, co-workers, roommates, families, significant others, neighbors, employees and/or paid staff. This team explores values and choices that are essential for developing goals and strategies supporting the individual's preferences. This planning component is initiated when a person first chooses Hope and continues as long as the person requests supports.

Each individual receiving supports from Hope has an Individual Service Plan. This component of the planning process is a contractual agreement between the person requesting supports and Hope. The Individual Service Plan is derived from the Personal Futures Plan and is developed by the person's Individual Service Team. The plan is dynamic and fluid. The team reviews the plan as needed, but no less than once every 12 months.

All residential services and supports are individualized and outlined in a person's Individual Service Plan. Residential services provided by Hope are focused on assisting persons who experience disabilities in acquiring, retaining and improving the self-help, socialization and adaptive skills necessary for the individual to reside successfully in the home or community setting of his or her choice. All residential services include as a basic component, support and training which occur during normal daily routines and are designed to enhance the abilities, competencies and functional life skills of the individual receiving services.

A new and exciting strategy that Hope has initiated to ensure that an individual receives maximum opportunity for open participation and sharing of power and control is that of the Home Alliance. A Home Alliance, which meets monthly, is a partnership formed by the people most closely connected to the individual receiving supports. These Alliances can, within the parameters of the home's budget, allocate time, resources and personnel in ways that best meet the needs of the individual. All issues within the home can be solved and handled by the Alliance members so that the management of the home occurs from the bottom up, rather than as a result of edicts from external sources.

Hope's residential services include, but are not limited to, the following service definition areas:

Foster Care - This service provides full-time, out-of-home care, with a qualified adult or family. Foster care is provided in licensed homes but does not require the natural family to give up custody or parental rights of their child. Foster care homes where adults receive support are licensed as Assisted Living Facilities. Hope takes careful consideration in matching foster care providers with individuals who receive services to ensure that Hope's values are adhered to within a foster care situation.

Shared Care - This service shares the responsibilities of supporting an individual who experiences a disability between two families, one of which is usually the natural family. Over the course of 12 months the person experiencing the disability spends approximately fifty percent of the time in each family's home.

In-home Supports - This service provides a wide range of training and support services in the individual's natural home. All in-home support services must be delivered at the residence in which the individual resides.

Supported Living - This service provides various levels of training and supervision to individuals moving into, or living in settings which maximize their independence. An individual's service plan identifies the extent to which the person receiving services needs guidance and support, and identifies skill areas targeted for training. Individuals who receive Supported Living services typically do not require 24-hour support.

Assisted Living - This service provides 24-hour residential care for adults in a group setting. Group homes are typically owned or leased by Hope, have a maximum number of four residents and are licensed as an Assisted Living Facility with the Division of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities.