"This house had an asleep overnight shift that began at 10pm, as directed by the CSSPs for the four people living in the home. The staff fell asleep at 8pm when all was quiet, and all the people were presumably in their rooms for the night. The people being served in this house demonstrated low needs which allowed them to have unsupervised time, contributing to the staff feeling comfortable to lie down. An additional factor into the staff laying down was that the staff was tired.  This staff had fallen asleep on previous shifts and disclosed to management that he was tired due to a personal situation that left him homeless. The staff typically slept in his car during this period.  The provider tried to work with him to move to the overnight position which would allow him to sleep but he did not accept this offer.  The provider noted that the overnight shift made nearly $5 less per hour, which was one of the influences into the person staying on the awake shift.  The provider was experiencing a staff shortage which is one of the factors into why they wanted to work with the staff to find a position that would meet both of their needs. An additional influence in staff falling asleep is that the staff laid down to try out a newly purchased weighted blanket   

All clients in the home had their needs assessed by MnCHOICES, which supported the individuals having sleep staff as well as alone time. The provider had seen this house as a potential house to replace overnight staff with remote monitoring technology due to the low needs of the individuals. The provider’s push for more alone time and remote monitoring was impacted by their efforts to allow the dignity of risk by providing more opportunities for people they serve to have a choice and control over their lives.  The effort to encourage dignity of risk was influenced by statewide person-centered planning requirements and emphasis. However, one guardian was resistant to remote monitoring but compromised by allowing the person alone time in their plan.  It was common knowledge among staff that the clients demonstrated low needs, contributing to the staff feeling comfortable to lie down. 

The staff’s unwillingness to move to the overnight shift was influenced by the lower rate of pay that asleep staff were paid. The sleep rate is factored into the provider’s overall reimbursement negotiated with the county through the 6790 and provides a lower rate asleep than awake hours. The 6790-negotiation process is influenced by the rates determined by the Legislature in the Disability Waiver Rate System and the assessed needs identified in MnCHOICES and the resulting supervision levels identified in the CSSP.