How We Assess Your Needs
Once you are eligible, we will schedule an interview with you for a Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) assessment. This interview will help us understand your support needs, and what is important to you and for you.
What is the Supports Intensity Scale Assessment Tool?
The Supports Intensity Scale is completed in an interview with you and people who know you well by a trained facilitator. The Supports Intensity Scale is an opportunity to talk about your goals and preferences, understand how often you need support, what type of support you need, and how much support you need in areas of daily life. Some of the things you will talk about will include:
- your life at home
- your life in the community
- your learning and employment
- your health and safety
The Supports Intensity Scale is an opportunity for you to talk about your support needs with your family, support network, and our program. This empowers you and your support network to talk about what you need in a whole new way and helps us to develop a good person-centred plan together at a later time.
How can I prepare for the Supports Intensity Scale interview?
Your interview will happen at a time and place that you works for you. The interview will take two to three hours.
Your Supports Intensity Scale Facilitator will try do their best make sure you and your support network feel comfortable answering the questions. Some of the questions are about personal areas of your life. These could be questions about your personal relationships, your safety, and how you get ready for the day. These questions are important to help Community Living disABILITY Services build a service plan that meets your needs and goals. You can let your Facilitator know if there are any topics that you may feel uncomfortable talking about and they can make a plan to support you through this conversation.
For your assessment, you can start to think about what is important “to you” and what is important “for you.” Things important TO you may include things like “spending time with family” or “learning to cook new recipes”. Things important FOR you may include things like “sticking to a healthy diet” or “meeting with my counsellor every week”.
Who will be at my Supports Intensity Scale interview?
The Supports Intensity Scale Facilitator will meet with you and other people who know you well. To make sure your support needs are understood, we recommend that at least two people attend, up to a maximum of five people.
The people you might want to invite could include:
- your family or friends
- your Substitute Decision Maker, if you have one
- others that know you well, such as a teacher, learning assistant, or a staff person from an agency
- your Community Service Worker
Can I get a copy of my Supports Intensity Scale report?
After your interview, you will receive your report by mail or email. Your Community Service Worker will meet with you to talk about the report and begin planning with you.
The Supports Intensity Scale Fact Sheet gives more information about the SIS interview.
For more information about the Supports Intensity Scale, you can visit the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities website.
Continue to the next page to learn how we determine funding for your services.
