Exploring Supported Decision-Making as an Alternative to Guardianship
By Guest Blogger Aaron Bishop, Commissioner, Administration for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
In January, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) published a blog that led to a richdiscussion among our readers. The purpose of the blog was to announce the recent funding of a national resource center to explore and develop a concept known as supported decision-making. The responses included everything from enthusiastic support, to cautious optimism about the concept, to outrage. The range and diversity of stories, experiences and responses reflect the fact that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to this important issue. In fact, many of the concerns shared by readers highlight exactly the sort of questions the National Resource Center for Supported Decision- Making seeks to explore during the coming years.
Supported decision-making is not a program. Rather, it is a model that can replace or, in some cases, be used alongside existing guardianship arrangements. The guardianship model assumes that it is necessary for others to make all decisions about how people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and older adults with cognitive impairment live their lives. Supported decision-making, on the other hand, starts with the assumption that, with adequate support, people can and should retain choice and control over their lives.
The key is a process centered on the person to whom the decisions apply. Supported decision-making provides assistance in specific ways and in specific situations, based on the individual needs of the person.
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