One Size Doesn’t Fit All: The Value of Personalized Services

What does a “good life” look like? At Mosaic, we know the answer is always personal.

For one person, their best day might be spent enjoying quiet time alone in nature. For another, it’s connecting with friends over a shared hobby. One individual might value the thrill of travel, while another finds their deepest comfort at home.

These differences are why a one-size-fits-all approach to services doesn’t work. To truly help someone achieve their best life, we first have to understand exactly what that looks like to them and for them and then build the supports necessary to help them reach it.

In a nutshell, that’s what personalized services means. But how do we put that concept into practice for every person we support? That’s where the Personal Outcome Measures® come in.

What Are Personal Outcome Measures?

Developed by The Council on Quality and Leadership (CQL), an organization focused on improving the quality of life for people with intellectual, developmental, and psychiatric disabilities, the Personal Outcome Measures is a proven framework used to precisely measure an individual’s quality of life.

The core framework includes 21 outcome areas, covering everything from choice, health, safety, social capital, relationships, and employment. At Mosaic, we recognize the importance of spirituality and have added it as an additional outcome area, bringing our total to 22.

How We Use This Framework

When a person begins services with Mosaic, we use the Personal Outcome Measures framework in the CQL’s three-step process:

• Learn: We ask a series of questions to understand what “living their best life” would look like to them. We learn about their dreams, goals, and priorities.
• Facilitate: Using what we’ve learned, we build a personalized strategy, which we call their individualized service plan, with services and supports designed to achieve those specific outcomes.
• Measure: Finally, we continuously track their progress toward achieving what matters most to them.

How are we doing?

When compared to the national benchmark, determined by CQL, Mosaic exceeds in a number of areas around personalized services. Notably, Mosaic’s scores are 21% higher for fair treatment, 17% higher for exercising rights, and 8% higher for goal attainment.

“Because achievement of Personal Outcomes Measures is determined by the people we support, using these as our measures ensures that we are providing service excellence and making improvements, if needed, that are meaningful to them,” said Tish Geftos, Mosaic’s Vice President of Service Excellence.

So, what does a good life look like?

For Craig Redden, a good life is the friendship he’s built with Tony Popp, his Mosaic at Home® Home Provider, and the sense of belonging he gets from attending weekly bingo games and services at his church.

Craig has lived in the shared living setting with Tony for more than a year and in that time has made some big changes. He’s improving his health with frequent walks, learning to cook and working with Tony for a grocery-delivery service.

Stephanie Releford, a Mosaic at Home Manager, said the experience of helping Tony shop for and deliver grocery orders in the community has been positive for Craig.

“It helps Craig feel a sense of belonging while earning some money,” she said, adding that Tony has also helped Craig learn how to budget.

Read more about Craig and Tony’s growing friendship, and explore more stories of lives transformed by Mosaic’s personalized services, in our Winter 2025 issue of Promise Magazine.

Mosaic provides services to nearly 5,000 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and other diverse needs across 12 states in more than 825 communities. These services enable people to thrive in their communities, hold jobs, gain autonomy, and accomplish other goals and dreams that are meaningful to them. To locate services near you, visit Find Services.