About Residential Services

Types of Residential Services in Arlington

RESPITE CARE: This service provides a break for persons caring for family members who have ID. The care may be provided in the family’s home or at another site. The choice of an agency will depend on the type of care needed, the age of the individual needing care, the availability of funding, and space availability if a facility is chosen. For persons who are age 18 and over, Arlington contracts for one bed in a respite home located in Springfield, VA, which is used for emergency and respite visits. Support coordinators have information about other respite services for children and adults.

IN-HOME SUPPORTS: This type of service may be provided to a person with ID who is living with his or her parents in their home, or to such an individual living in his or her own apartment. Supports are given on an hourly basis by non-profit staff, with the number of hours determined by an evaluation of the person’s daily living skills. The specific training or assistance residential staff provide is spelled out in an Individualized Support Plan (ISP).

SUPERVISED APARTMENTS: Non-profit agencies provide daily staffing to persons living in apartments leased or owned by that organization. Residents need more assistance than those receiving only in-home support. Some residents need less support than persons living in group homes; others need the equivalent of congregate residential services. The specific training or assistance provided is detailed in an ISP.

GROUP HOMES: Several non-profit agencies operate group homes in Arlington County. Residential staff work in all of them, but the number of staff present, and the number of hours during the day and night when staff work varies. The level of staffing is determined by the abilities of the persons living in the home. Supervision, training and assistance are also provided under an ISP within a group home. The number of individuals with ID living in each home varies from four to seven. Non-profit agencies have contracts with Arlington County to provide this service.

SPONSORED RESIDENTIAL SERVICES: A family invites a person with ID to live in their home and provides them with the supports they need to be successful in the community as well as to reach their own personal goals, all outlined in an ISP. The regulations and agency policies governing how these homes operate are very similar to group homes. Each home may support up to two individuals with ID. Arlington has one sponsored residential provider.

INTERMEDIATE CARE FACILITIES/IID: There are two types of ICFs/IID. The first is a state facility or institution which offers highly intensive residential services. There are five of these in Virginia, the closest being in Fairfax County. The other type of ICF/IID is community-based; those in Arlington have the outward appearance of a group home and are operated by a non-profit agency. ICFs provide residential services to individuals who have ID and co-occurring personal care, medical and/or behavioral needs. ICF staff provide ongoing active treatment based on residents’ ISPs. The ICF team includes the Program Manager, Program Nurse,
Social Worker, Recreation Director, Clinical Director, Counselors and Aides and is supplemented by other professional healthcare consultants. The depth and breadth of the staffing differentiates an ICF from a group home. Residents must be eligible for Medicaid to receive funding for this level of service.

Note: Most of the residents in all the residential programs described above leave their homes daily to attend day support, pre-vocational, and supported employment programs.