What support is assigned
Your ISP or Service Agreement, approved activities, schedule, setting, and the outcomes assigned to Empowered Services.
The Empowered Match Method™
The right fit is designed, not guessed.
Readiness first. Seven signals. You decide.
Schedules and location matter — but they never decide the match alone. First we learn what your support requires and make sure a candidate can provide it safely. Then we look at fit: communication, routines, goals, language, and style. Services start only after you say yes and onboarding is complete.
A schedule-only approach asks
“Who is available?”
The Empowered Match Method asks
“Is this person ready for the support — and right for your life?”
Schedule, location, and travel still matter — support has to work in real life. But they sit alongside safety, skill, your preferences, and fit. They are never the only reason for a match.
Scope, Safety & Support Readiness
Fit starts with the work your DSP must be ready to do.
Before we compare fit, we review your authorized support and your existing written plans. This tells us the experience, training, and skills a candidate needs before working on their own.
Matching review is not a clinical evaluation.
We use your existing authorized plans, protocols, and support-team input to identify staffing and training needs. The Match Method does not diagnose, prescribe, create a professional behavior plan, determine IDD eligibility, or authorize service hours.
The Seven Matching Signals
Once readiness is clear, seven signals shape the fit.
No single signal decides the match. We weigh them together, with your preferences and the realities of the role. Select a signal to see what it means.
Designed Fit™
Readiness + Relationship + Rhythm
Good information guides the search, but no score picks your DSP. The Meet & Greet and your approval complete the decision.
Selected signal
Connection & personality
Human connection
We look at whether the candidate’s presence, pace, humor, and style are likely to feel safe and comfortable to you.
Your preferences are honored in a person-centered way and within nondiscrimination requirements. Protected characteristics are never used in place of readiness or real fit.
The Designed Fit™ Principle
Fit matters once readiness is in place.
Designed Fit asks three questions, in order. The method sharpens the decision — it never replaces yours.
Can this person safely provide your authorized support?Scope, written plans, training, and skills come first.
Will the arrangement hold up in real life?Schedule, travel, transportation, and setting have to work.
Does the relationship feel right to you?The Meet & Greet gives you space for questions, preference, and a human decision.
How the Match Is Made
Listen. Review. Search. Meet. Support.
Your Matching Specialist coordinates the matching process from readiness review through the Meet & Greet. You stay involved at each step, and you decide whether a proposed match moves forward.
Matching is one part of the bigger care structure. See how the Regional Care Model supports you after the match →
Different Starting Points
Three ways to match today. EmpoweredMatch app coming soon.
Empowered Services is certified statewide, accepts intake statewide, and recruits caregivers across Oregon. You may bring someone you already trust or ask our team to help find a match. Dedicated regional care teams are currently established in 11 counties as the model continues to grow statewide.
Today a match may begin through agency-led matching, a referred candidate, or Empowered Choice. Screening, onboarding, readiness, and your approval remain part of every pathway.
Empowered recruits and recommends candidates
A Recruiter identifies candidates. Your Matching Specialist reviews them against your support requirements and preferences, then arranges a Meet & Greet with promising candidates.
I need a DSP →A referred candidate
A customer, family member, current DSP, case-management partner, or other referral source may recommend someone to apply. Referred candidates complete the same screening, readiness review, Meet & Greet, and onboarding as other candidates.
Apply or refer a DSP →Empowered Choice
You choose a family member, friend, or longtime supporter to apply as your paid DSP. A Match Meet & Greet is usually not needed because you are bringing someone you already know. The caregiver still completes required screening, onboarding, training, and employment requirements.
Explore Empowered Choice →Every pathway requires your approval, background checks, credential verification, required onboarding, and person-specific readiness before independent support begins — and a human touch completes every match.
After the Match
The method continues through the relationship.
Matching is not a one-time placement. As we learn more, we adjust: clearer expectations, more training, a new backup plan, or a rematch when needed.
Separate customer & DSP check-ins
We check in with you — and, when you choose or it is legally authorized, your representative or supporter — and separately with your DSP.
Relationship & progress review
A structured review of how the relationship is working and progress toward your goals, with a written report to your Service Coordinator or Personal Agent.
Coordination & continuity planning
Your Care Coordinator stays connected to how support is working and coordinates service changes, documentation, scheduling, backup preferences, training needs, and communication with your Service Coordinator, Personal Agent, county, or brokerage. The Care Coordinator may work from Head Office, locally in the field, or across both functions depending on the region. Your Regional Care Manager remains available for regional leadership and escalation where assigned.
Questions about matching.
What the method does, what it considers, and where its limits are.
Start with the support — not just the schedule.
Complete intake or ask a question. A real person responds within 1–2 business days to understand your situation and explain the next step.