For people sharing a home who want to understand their support choices
If roommates both receive support, do they have to share a provider or worker?
Living together does not automatically create a shared service arrangement. DHS guidance says each person needs an individual support plan and choices about providers and shared services. Before proposing shared staffing, discuss each person's activity, preferences and support needs separately. A shared address is a housing fact; whether support should be shared is a planning decision.
Begin with two individual conversations
Ask each person what they want help doing, what they prefer to keep private, and whether they want any activities together. A roommate who enjoys a joint grocery trip may still want a private budgeting conversation. Do not turn agreement about one activity into consent to share the whole week.
Give people a way to answer without the other roommate or a provider speaking for them. Record areas of agreement and disagreement as information for planning. The objective is a workable arrangement for each person, not a single household schedule that looks efficient on paper.
Check the setting and service choices
DHS own-home requirements address independent choice of services and providers. Shared staffing is not the automatic default when people live together. Ask the case manager how the actual housing and proposed services meet the relevant requirements.
Separate tenancy questions from service questions. Who signed the lease, who controls the unit, and whether a provider has a financial relationship with the housing may matter to the setting review. Do not assume that choosing a different support provider requires moving, or that the same landlord means the same care arrangement.
Describe the proposed shared activity precisely
Replace “share staff on Tuesday” with a concrete description: the activity, time window, what each person wants to do, and what assistance each may need. Ask the provider how it would respond if the two people need attention at the same moment.
Use a practical scenario to test the proposal. If one person wants to leave an outing early while the other wants to stay, what happens? A shared visit should be considered with those differences visible. The answer may be a different activity, different staffing, or separate visits rather than asking one person to surrender their preference.
Compare household agreements with service agreements
Roommates may agree about dishes or use of a living room without making a decision about shared care. Keep those two kinds of agreement distinguishable. The following examples are discussion prompts, not a prescribed household contract.
| Topic | Household conversation | Support-planning conversation |
|---|---|---|
| Shared meal | Food preferences and use of the kitchen | Each person's requested help and worker role |
| Community outing | Whether both people want to go | Individual needs, timing and staffing arrangement |
| Private space | Bedroom and storage boundaries | Where a worker may assist each person |
| Schedule change | How roommates tell each other | Who updates the provider and each person's plan |
Keep private information and records individual
A shared worker does not mean that one roommate should receive the other's history or planning records. Ask how the provider conducts private conversations and records individual support. Discuss where paperwork is kept and what practical information may need to be shared for a joint activity.
When an activity is canceled, describe the impact on each person separately. One roommate's decision to stay home may change the logistics without canceling the other's need for support. Ask the provider and case manager how changes will be handled in the agreed arrangement instead of improvising a new shared schedule.
Review the arrangement as preferences change
DHS overnight-support guidance discusses both individual and shared staffing and emphasizes the person's choice. Use a review conversation to ask what is working for each roommate. A joint activity that was useful earlier may no longer suit different interests or routines.
Keep a clear route for either person to raise a concern. Record the request, who will review it, and what arrangement applies while it is being resolved. A worksheet should help people express choices; it should never function as a blanket agreement to all future shared services.
Roommate support choice discussion record
Use a separate copy for each person, then compare only the information they agree to share. Ask the case manager to review proposed service arrangements.
Download worksheet (.txt)- Individual priority
- What activity does this person want support with?
Illustrative entry: A weekly grocery trip and a private money-planning conversation.
- Interest in sharing
- Which activity, if any, do they want to share?
Illustrative entry: Interested in shopping together; not in sharing budgeting discussions.
- Different preferences
- What happens if the roommates want different things?
Illustrative entry: Discuss transport and staffing if one person wants to leave early.
- Privacy boundary
- Which information and spaces remain private?
Illustrative entry: Individual support records and bedroom routines.
- Review question
- What must the case manager or provider resolve?
Illustrative entry: Whether the proposed shared activity meets both people's needs.
- Change route
- How can the person request a different arrangement?
Illustrative entry: Named coordination contact and a private way to give feedback.
An optional discussion tool, not an official assessment, authorization, service plan, or emergency plan. Keep completed copies private and share through an agreed channel.
Worked example: a shared outing is not a shared plan
Two roommates like visiting the same store. One wants to practice choosing ingredients; the other wants assistance following a familiar shopping list. They agree that going together sounds useful, but one prefers a short visit and the other likes browsing. The team records both preferences and asks how the proposed staffing would handle different return times. Their private planning conversations remain separate. The shared interest becomes a question to evaluate, not evidence that all support should be combined.
This example is invented to explain the worksheet; it is not a client story or a promised outcome.
Your next step
Ask each person about their preferences separately, then bring any proposed shared activity to the case manager and provider for review.
For a conversation with Clemens Health about your Twin Cities location, call (651) 354-1196 or send a referral. Service fit, authorization, and staffing need to be confirmed.
Minnesota resources
State resources explain program rules. The worksheet and examples are Clemens Health planning aids. Links were checked October 5, 2026; follow the current state guidance for eligibility and service questions.