Report of the Commissioner for Human Rights on the activities of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture in Poland in 2017 Good practices to share The SCH in Ełk, named Tęczowy Dom - Farma św. Józefa [St. Joseph Rainbow Home and Farm], is a care home for physically self-dependent boys. It is located in the village of Jeziorowskie, 15 km from Ełk. Next to the home there is a farm where residents may work to learn to become independent. On the day of the visit, four boys were working on the farm. The facility plans to have animals, including alpacas, that will be taken care of by the home’s residents. The facility also has a particularly good location in the vicinity of a forest and a river. Alternative communication methods and „communication passports” Thanks to the practices developed in the below-mentioned institutions, communication with their residents with severe intellectual disabilities is possible. The SCH in Radzymin: the use of the Hodgkinson mental test, and the Barthel index, in order to determine the person’s degree of self-dependence and to properly adjust the offered care and therapeutic activities to the needs of the residents. The SCH in Międzyrzecz: an extensive offer of therapy facilities: an art and occupational therapy room; a music therapy room combined with a small library and a kitchenette; a computer room, and a kinesitherapy room. The home also organizes Occupational Therapy Workshops which include workshops in the following subjects: carpentry, ceramics, floristry, interior design, culinary and housekeeping activities, social skill in professional work, and psychology. The SCH named Jedlina, located in Mienia: numerous facilities for conducting occupational therapy: a sports hall (with exercise towers and ladders, a rowing simulator, stationary bicycles and a table for table tennis), a music room (with a place for listeners), a computer room, a “surrounding world experience” room, a technical room and a stable (offering hippo -therapy and ergotherapy). The possibility of paid employment is also offered to the residents: 10 residents had paid jobs (each 0.5 of the full-time job) in the Occupational Activity Facility in Mińsk. 56