Resources for Home Sharing Coordinators

The Standards for Home Sharing provide a foundation for the delivery of Home Sharing services, ensuring that individuals who choose this option receive consistent and high quality support. The standards clarify the roles and responsibilities of home sharing providers and allow those who are responsible for monitoring home sharing arrangements to assess whether contractors are meeting established standards.

• Standards for Home Sharing
• Standards for Home Sharing Policy
• Home Sharing Standards Q&A for Service Providers
• At a Glance: Home Sharing Standards Key Changes for Service Providers
• Home Sharing Standards on a Page

The new Standards for the Coordination of Home Sharing have been added to the Service Terms and Conditions for Contracts Between Community Living British Columbia and Service Providers (available here and in the tab below) and are effective as of May 1, 2022.

The new standards and policy can be found below, along with resources to support agencies with their learning and to support compliance:

• Standards for the Coordination of Home Sharing
• Standards for the Coordination of Home Sharing Policy
• Q&A for Service Providers
• Optional Self Assessment tool (this link will download the Word document to your computer)

Policies are clearly-written rules that define the expectations CLBC has of home sharing providers in specific situations. They guide the practice of our own staff and interact with established standards and identified contract outcomes to ensure the home sharing arrangement is positive for the individual and the home sharing provider. The following policies govern CLBC practice:

• Bathing Guidelines Policy
• Behaviour Support and Safety Planning Policy
• Criminal Record Check Policy: Service Delivery
• Critical Incidents Policy
• Individual Financial Contribution to Home Supports Policy
• Respite Guidelines Policy (under review)
• Service Provision by Family Members Policy
• Standards for Home Sharing Policy
• Travel Outside of BC with CLBC-Funded Services Policy
• Travel Outside of BC – Q&A for Contracted Service Providers

End-of-Life Policy

This policy outlines responsibilities of CLBC staff and contracted service providers for the reporting, documenting, and review required following the death of an individual supported by CLBC-funded services.

It also provides guidance to CLBC staff about end-of-life care for individuals who are dying and bereavement support for members of the individual’s family and support network.

• End-of-Life Policy and Appendices
• Mortality Information Summary Form

The terms and conditions establish the contractual relationship between CLBC and its service providers and, taken together with service specific contractual documents, set out the formal legal relationship between the parties.

The Service Terms and Conditions found here are effective July 1, 2024.

You can find archived terms and conditions documents here.

Critical Incident Reporting

A critical incident is a serious or unusual event that involves an individual accessing services funded by CLBC while service is being delivered.

The following online course provides guidance for services providers on critical incident reporting:

Critical Incidents Follow-up Guidance For Service Providers: Reporting & Follow-up

Privacy and Information Management

CLBC’s online privacy training is for all employees and subcontractors of agencies who provide services to CLBC-eligible individuals.

Click here to learn more and access the online Privacy and Information Management course.

The Community Living Home Study Certification Course for Shared Living is designed for service provider staff who conduct home studies.

Offered through the Justice Institute of BC (JIBC), the course teaches how to evaluate home share applicants following the Standards for the Coordination of Home Sharing. It also covers the latest standards, best practices and person-centered approaches to home sharing, helping ensure that potential providers can improve the quality of life for those in shared living arrangements.

The course includes a four-week, self-paced online component. Following the self-paced portion of the course, learners attend a one-day, live, virtual module from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm.

To learn more and see upcoming course offerings, visit the Community Living Home Study Certification for Shared Living page on the JIBC website here.

The Home Share Coordinators Handbook template has been developed by the BC CEO Network as a template and should be customized to each organization’s specific organizational structure, practices, policies and terminology.

The handbook supports quality service and is based on standards and best practices. It considers Quality of Life outcomes, accreditation standards and CLBC Standards for the Coordination of Shared Living.

To access the Home Share Coordinators Handbook template, click here to download this presentation from the BC CEO Network website. The presentation provides an overview of the handbook and how to customize and implement it for your organization. The last page contains a link to download the template as a Word document.

Learn more about the BC CEO Network and their home sharing training and resources here.

The Shared Living Resource Guide: A Toolkit of Ideas to Support Good Lives in Community is the result of a collaborative initiative between Community Living BC and the CEO Network of BC. The guide reflects three years of research, conversation, and collaboration between the many people involved with the delivery of shared living services within this province. The guide is an invaluable resource for agencies currently delivering shared living services and for those that are considering seeking to become qualified to deliver this service.

Home sharing agencies have found the following resources to be useful:

• Determining Employee vs Contractor
• CRA Bulletin

The Aging Knowledge Hub is a place to find aging-related resources and information for a range of topics in one, easy-to-access location. The Hub is designed to support, connect and inform individuals and their families experiencing aging-related changes.

Visit the Aging Knowledge Hub here.

Get Prepared is a website that will be of interest to home sharing providers who want to learn how to prepare for an emergency. Created by the Government of Canada, the side includes valuable information about knowing the risks, making a plan, and developing an emergency kit.

Visit: www.getprepared.gc.ca

Home sharing is delivered throughout the province by a network of home sharing providers that are under contract with qualified community-based agencies and under direct contract with CLBC.

To offer shared living services, agencies must go through a formal qualification process. The list of qualified suppliers is regularly reviewed and revised. Go to the BC Bid website.