Rebecca Baitch serves as a Program Coordinator at The Supported Living Group (SLG), supporting the implementation and coordination of community-based services for individuals with acquired and traumatic brain injury.

Her role combines program coordination, staff leadership, service implementation, and individualized support to help ensure that ABI participants receive consistent, person-centered services aligned with their goals and needs.

Rebecca's responsibilities include coordinating staff teams, supporting day-to-day program operations, contributing to staff training, and helping maintain the consistency and quality of services provided to individuals receiving community-based supports.

Program Coordination in Connecticut ABI Services

Effective ABI Waiver services require much more than simply assigning staff.

Programs must coordinate:

• Individual service goals

• Staff schedules

• Participant needs

• Communication among team members

• Documentation

• Training

• Safety considerations

• Changes in support needs

Rebecca's role helps connect the participant's individualized service plan with the practical implementation of supports in the community.

This is especially important after brain injury because an individual's needs may change as they develop new skills, encounter new challenges, or pursue new goals.

Supporting Individuals With Acquired Brain Injury

Brain injury can affect many areas of everyday functioning, including:

• Executive functioning

• Organization

• Memory

• Emotional regulation

• Judgment

• Problem-solving

• Community participation

• Independent living

Program coordination is critical to ensuring that support staff understand how these challenges affect the individual they are supporting.

A participant may be physically capable of completing an activity while requiring assistance with planning, sequencing, initiation, or decision-making.

Effective ABI services therefore depend on staff understanding the reason behind the support need, not simply the task itself.

Staff Development and Team Coordination

One of Rebecca's key responsibilities is supporting staff recruitment, hiring, and training, as well as the day-to-day coordination of support teams.

This is an important component of quality ABI services.

Direct support professionals often spend the greatest amount of time with an individual. They therefore need to understand:

• The participant's goals

• Communication preferences

• Cognitive challenges

• Behavioral presentation

• Effective support strategies

• Safety considerations

Strong program coordination helps create consistency across the support team.

Translating Person-Centered Plans Into Everyday Support

A service plan may identify goals such as:

• Greater independence

• Community participation

• Employment

• Improved organization

• Better daily routines

The challenge is turning those goals into practical daily opportunities.

A program coordinator helps ensure that support teams understand how to incorporate those goals into everyday activities.

For example, a goal involving greater independence may become opportunities to practice:

• Grocery shopping

• Scheduling

• Transportation

• Household management

• Community navigation

• Problem-solving

The objective is not merely to complete tasks for someone.

It is to create opportunities for the individual to develop skills.

Consistency Matters After Brain Injury

Individuals with ABI may experience difficulty adapting when expectations and approaches change from one support professional to another.

Consistency can be especially important for individuals experiencing:

• Executive dysfunction

• Memory impairment

• Cognitive fatigue

• Emotional regulation difficulties

A coordinated team can help ensure that effective strategies are used consistently across the individual's support environment.

This can reduce confusion and create a more predictable framework for skill development.

Supporting Community-Based Independence

The Connecticut ABI Waiver is intended to support individuals in community settings rather than simply providing care in isolation.

Program coordination plays an important role in helping individuals pursue meaningful participation in:

• Employment

• Education

• Recreation

• Relationships

• Community activities

• Independent living

Rebecca's role contributes to the practical delivery of this community-based model.

Collaboration With Families and Support Teams

ABI services frequently involve collaboration among:

• Participants

• Families

• Direct support professionals

• Care managers

• Clinicians

• Program leadership

Rebecca works within this broader team structure to promote communication, consistency, and individualized support.

Strong collaboration allows changes in an individual's needs or goals to be recognized and addressed more effectively.

Supporting Quality and Compliance

Community-based disability services require systems that support both individualized care and organizational accountability.

Rebecca's responsibilities include helping programs operate efficiently while maintaining organizational and regulatory requirements.

This includes areas such as:

• Staff coordination

• Training

• Documentation

• Program implementation

• Service consistency

• Organizational standards

Quality ABI services depend on both person-centered care and strong operational systems.