Abstract
The Best Friends approach has been used in a Kentucky adult day center for more than 25 years. This study is a pre-post training evaluation of the Best Friends approach as used at center A when compared with a social model adult day program at center B that does not use the Best Friends approach. At each center, the participant's quality of life was measured from 3 perspectives: center staff, family member/friend, and direct observation of participant behavior. Family satisfaction with care and staff satisfaction with work were also assessed. Findings suggest that differences in ratings for the 2 programs depended on the perspective of the rater and the specific participants served. Both of these centers appeared to sustain the quality of life for their participants.