Includes:

• Lockable Doors
• Freedom to Furnish or Decorate the Unit
• Options for a Private Unit and/or Choice of Roommate

What this Looks like in Practice:

• Settings have policies and procedures and related staff training to ensure peoples’ needs and desires for privacy are respected and protected.
• Staff and roommates respect a person’s personal possessions/private property.
• People have access to make and receive private telephone calls and access to personal communication via text, email or other personal communication method.
• People have access to spaces for private conversations or quiet time (e.g., a place to be alone if someone is upset or wants to relax in a quiet area).
• There is a location where people can visit privately with visitors.
• People have privacy during activities of daily living such as maintaining personal hygiene, bathing, grooming and dressing. Staff ask for the person’s permission to provide the needed support and do so in a private area and with discretion and dignity.
• Staff knock on the door and get permission from a person before entering the living unit. If the person is not readily able to express permission, the staff will, as much as possible, ensure that the person is aware of the staff person’s presence and intention to enter the living unit and monitor the person’s reaction for signs of their privacy being violated.
• The provider and staff keep personal information private and do not share it with others without the person’s expressed consent.
• Staff do not discuss an individual in the open or within earshot of those who do not need to hear the discussion.
• People’s full names and personal/health information are not left in public for others to see.
• Staff don’t open mail or other forms of communication without the consent of the person or their guardian.
• One way of ensuring that individuals have privacy in their living unit is providing them with the choice of roommate. People are supported in exploring every possible residential option, including being able to choose a roommate whenever possible. This means that:
  • The provider has a written process supporting individuals choosing their own roommate.
  • People are involved in the selection of a roommate.
  • The provider informs individuals of the process for requesting or changing a roommate.