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| Frequently Asked Questions:
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| Is it true that In the Company of Friends has changed its name to LIFE?
No, In the Company of Friends (ICOF) and LIFE are two very different things. ICOF is a program offered through the Supported Living Division of the Department of Family Services and Housing. Participants receive money directly from the Department, make their own decisions, hire their own staff and work towards living each day the way THEY want to. LIFE is an organization that provides resources and supports AND ensures that each participant in ICOF has a strong and healthy support network to support them.
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| What is an ICOF Support Network?
An ICOF Support Network is a group of people who have a relationship with the participant. They may be family members or friends who intentionally come together to celebrate the participant’s gifts and talents, enjoy a reciprocal relationship with the participant and each other, and when needed, agree to assist the participant to self-direct and manage day to day living tasks – in the company of friends!
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| Why doesn’t LIFE Resource Staff just hire the staff for ICOF participants?
The whole philosophy of the ICOF model is that each participant self-directs and self-manages his/her own life, which includes hiring his/her own staff. The Support Network is in place to assist in this and other processes if needed. LIFE Resource Staff are available to provide assistance if needed but do not have the authority or responsibility to do the actual hiring for them. It’s why we often call ICOF participants – ICOF employers!
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| Who hires LIFE’s staff?
The Board of Directors of LIFE hires an Executive Director and she hires and supervises the Resource Coordinators and Staff.
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| Why aren’t LIFE Resource Staff supervising the ICOF participant’s staff?
Each ICOF participant supervises his/her own staff with help from the Support Network. LIFE’s role is to provide resources and guidance to the Support Network and the participant so that they are equipped and empowered to do this for themselves.
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| What does LIFE do if an ICOF participant is making bad decisions?
Well… we all do that sometimes, especially when we are learning to make decisions. LIFE has no power to take away an ICOF participant’s right to make his/her own decisions. The philosophy of the ICOF model is based on ‘supported decision making’. Supported decision making is a term that is well defined in the Vulnerable Persons’ Living With a Mental Disability Act. It means that the Support Network and even the LIFE Resource Staff may provide guidance and information to the ICOF participant but it is ultimately the participant’s right to make the decision. In fact, it is LIFE’s responsibility to ensure that the ICOF participant is making the decision or minimally participating in the decision making process. Many participants have not had the opportunity to make their own life decisions before and it is a learning curve. LIFE is responsible for ensuring that each ICOF participant has a Support Network in place to assist in that process.
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