Preserving Stories • Strengthening Supports • Building Community
Clallam County Health and Human Services – Developmental Disabilities Program is supporting an innovative pilot project designed to improve continuity, dignity, and quality of supports for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), particularly those with high-acuity support needs. Grounded in Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) values, this project addresses one of the most persistent challenges in the service system: the disruption individuals and families experience when staff turnover leads to repeated Discovery processes and duplicated assessments.
Led by Monica Meyer Consulting, Inc., Bridging Service Gaps in Clallam County: A Pilot for Other Counties creates person-centered multimedia portfolios that preserve essential knowledge about each individual so that understanding does not need to begin again every time a provider or staff member changes.
A Discovery-Based Multimedia Portfolio that Follows the Person
Each multimedia portfolio is developed through a comprehensive Discovery process that captures a meaningful understanding of the individual’s life. The portfolio highlights:
- Interests, strengths, and personal motivations
• Communication style and effective communication strategies
• Sensory preferences and learning style
• Conditions that support success in community or employment environments
• Contributions, gifts, and talents that may benefit an employer or community setting
• Successful support strategies that promote regulation, engagement, and participation
• Preferences related to routines, environments, and relationships
Through interviews, record review, and video vignettes in familiar environments, the project captures the depth and nuance of who the individual is not simply their support needs of deficits.
The result is a 45–75 minute multimedia video portfolio that preserves the individual’s story in a respectful, accessible, and highly usable format that can be shared at the discretion of the individual or their family.
Benefits for Individuals and Families
For many individuals with high-acuity support needs, repeated assessments can feel exhausting and discouraging. Families are often asked to retell deeply personal information multiple times as new staff enter the system. This project reduces that burden by creating a lasting resource that captures the individual’s identity, preferences, and successful supports.
Benefits include:
- Reduces the need to repeatedly retell personal history and support needs
• Preserves critical knowledge about communication, regulation, and engagement strategies
• Promotes dignity by ensuring the person is understood beyond paperwork or assessments
• Supports continuity of services even when staff or agencies change
• Creates a lasting record owned by the individual and family
• Helps others understand what is important to and important for the individual
• Supports more meaningful pathways to employment and community inclusion
• Strengthens advocacy by clearly illustrating strengths, interests, and contributions
The multimedia portfolio becomes a tool that reflects the individual as a whole person — highlighting capabilities, relationships, and possibilities.
Benefits for Provider Agencies and Direct Support Professionals
The multimedia portfolio also functions as a powerful onboarding and training tool for employment providers, community inclusion specialists, residential staff, and other support professionals.
Rather than relying solely on written reports and reinterview family and other staff, the agency staff can see and hear how to best support the individual through real-life examples and context-rich information.
Benefits include:
- Accelerates staff understanding of the individual’s strengths and support needs
• Reduces duplication of Discovery and repeated community based assessments
• Improves consistency of supports across staff and agencies
• Helps new staff build confidence more quickly
• Preserves effective communication and behavior support strategies
• Supports fidelity to person-centered practices
• Improves alignment between individual preferences and community or employment opportunities
• Enhances staff ability to identify conditions for success in community inclusion or customized employment
By helping staff understand the individual more fully, the multimedia portfolio increases the likelihood of successful employment matches, meaningful relationships, and authentic community participation.
What Participation Involves
Participation in this project is voluntary and collaborative. Individuals and families work with the project lead to identify what is important to and for the individual through a Discovery-informed process. Activities may include:
- Interviews with the individual, family members, and trusted supporters
• Review of previous documents, assessments, and plans
• Identification of strengths, interests, and preferred environments
• Filming short video segments in familiar settings such as home or community activities
• Capturing examples of successful communication approaches and instructional supports
The final multimedia portfolio belongs to the individual and family and may be shared with providers as they choose to support continuity, understanding, and respectful, person-centered services.