CQL’s Basic Assurances® require more than compliance with licensing and certification standards. Basic Assurances® looks at the provision of safeguards from the person’s perspective. While the Basic Assurances® contain requirements for certain systems and policies and procedures, they go well beyond that. The effectiveness of the system or the policy is determined in practice, person by person.
Basic Assurances® are essential, fundamental and non-negotiable requirements for all service and support providers. Basic Assurances® are demonstrations of successful operations in the areas of health, safety and human security. Basic Assurances® form the bedrock of social stability.
Meeting Basic Assurances® is a prerequisite for being in business in our field. These assurances are not statements of intent; rather, they are statements of results. They define the essential, fundamental and non-negotiable requirements for all service and support providers, whether public or private, large or small.
Published in 2005, CQL’s Basic Assurances® contain ten (10) factors and 46 indicators. These Basic Assurances® are a balance between concerns for individual Health, Safety and Security and the necessity of social constructs such as Respect, Natural Supports and Social Networks to ensure sustainable outcomes for people.
10 Basic Assurances® Factors
- Rights Protection and Promotion
- Dignity and Respect
- Natural Support Networks
- Protection from Abuse, Neglect, Mistreatment and Exploitation
- Best Possible Health
- Safe Environments
- Staff Resources and Supports
- Positive Services and Supports
- Continuity and Personal Security
- Basic Assurances® System
Each indicator is evaluated on two dimensions – System and Practice – and both must be present for the overall indicator to be considered present.
Systems are typically described in organizational policy and procedure and supported through staff training and other approaches. Organizational systems must be sustainable over time and flexible enough to be individually applied.
Practice is what we find happening in people’s lives as a result of these systems. Organizational practice demonstrates how an organization’s supports are put into action for each person.