Person-Centered Care: Your Goals, Your Voice, Your Life

At Skycrest Place and Stardust Group Homes, our residents are not defined by their needs — they are celebrated for their strengths, passions, and goals. Our entire approach is rooted in Person-Centered Care, a requirement of the Florida Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) and a core value embedded into every part of our daily routines.

Person-Centered Care means:

✨ The individual is the leader of their own life decisions.

We support, guide, and encourage — but we never take away a person’s voice or independence.

What Is Person-Centered Care?

Person-Centered Care is a structured approach used in APD-licensed homes across Florida. It focuses on:

• Respecting choices

• Supporting independence

• Empowering self-determination

• Encouraging community inclusion

• Protecting dignity and privacy

At Skycrest and Stardust, this goes beyond a requirement — it’s our culture.

We don’t ask,

“How can we do this for you?”

We ask,💙 “How can we help you do this yourself?”

Individual Support Plans (ISP): Built Around the Resident

Every resident has an Individual Support Plan (ISP). This plan is not created by staff alone — it is developed with the resident, along with:

• Families / guardians

• APD support coordinators

• Healthcare or therapy professionals (if applicable)

The ISP outlines:

• Personal goals

• Daily routines and preferences

• Communication style

• Learning and life skill priorities

• Safety and support needs

Residents choose goals that matter to them, including:

✅ Learning to prepare meals✅ Managing money✅ Developing friendships✅ Exploring job opportunities✅ Increasing independence

When a resident reaches a goal, we celebrate—because their achievement is our success.

Daily Choice Matters

In a person-centered home, everyday choices are just as important as long-term goals.

Residents choose:

• What they want to wear

• What meals they prefer

• How they want to decorate their room

• Whether they want to join outings

• When they want quiet time

Choice builds confidence. Confidence builds independence.

Honoring Communication Differences

Every resident communicates uniquely.

Some speak verbally. Some use gestures. Some prefer communication boards or devices. Some need more time to process responses.

Our staff never rushes or pressures communication.

Instead, we:

• Listen attentively

• Respect personal communication styles

• Create space for expression

• Use visual cues or prompts when helpful

Everyone deserves to feel heard.

Dignity + Respect = Trust

Person-Centered Care requires staff to interact with residents respectfully at all times. This includes:

• Knocking before entering personal spaces

• Explaining actions before providing physical assistance

• Using positive, encouraging language

• Never discussing a resident in front of others

Dignity is not a suggestion —it is a commitment.

Strength-Based Support

We focus on what residents can do — not on their limitations.

Instead of completing tasks for residents, we coach and guide:

• “Let’s do this together.”

• “Show me what you can do first.”

• “I’ll help you with the harder part.”

Over time, residents become more confident and independent — and that transformation is one of the greatest joys of our work.

Why Person-Centered Care Works

Residents become:

• More confident

• Happier

• More independent

• Better problem-solvers

Families notice the change, too. They frequently share that their loved ones:

• Talk more

• Participate more

• Smile more

Because when someone is respected, they bloom.

Conclusion

At Skycrest Place and Stardust Group Homes, Person-Centered Care isn’t just compliance with APD requirements —💙 it is who we are.

Every resident deserves a life where their voice is heard, their choices matter, and their dreams are supported.

And here, they are.