Three Core Design Principles

#1  Consistent and high-quality services and support are provided by a                                  
stable workforce, whose workers have:
Stable work lives and 
Stable personal lives.
#2  A quality job is created through a balance of:
The tangible (wages/benefits) and 
The intangible (respected/consulted)
#3  A personal assistance system must be designed around:  	
The relationship between the consumer and the worker, and thus. A balance of client control and worker rights.

Five Essential Elements of a Stable Workforce 
#1  Careful recruitment and selection that screens for:
Ø      Maturity
Ø      Problem-solving skills, and most of all
Ø      Proven desire to be a personal assistance worker

#2  Training that is consumer oriented: 
Ø      Adapted to individual consumer needs and preferences
Ø      Adult-centered
Ø      Peer-mentored
Ø      Balance of problem-solving and technical skills

#3  Competitive wages and benefits
Ø      Family self-sufficient wages 
Ø      Health insurance, plus 
Ø   	Possibility for career advancement

#4  Supports
	On-going advice and problem-solving from peers
	Counselor and/or case management support 
	Maximization of community and public services

 #5  Supervision (whether consumer-directed or agency model)
      High standards of expectation
      "Coaching" rather than punitive orientation 
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