A Home of One’s Own

Excerpted from Patterns of Supported Living: A Resource Catalogue Today’s service systems developed around the unspoken assumption that people could not have both severe disabilities and homes of their own. — John O’Brien (1991) Introduction A primary value underlying supported living is supporting a person who controls — through ownership or lease — the place … Read more

Learn the Basics, Learn the Process, Apply What You Learn: Service Coordination Orientation and Training Curriculum

While all twenty-one Regional Centers are not alike, the same laws and regulations apply to each. What you will find in this document are the general procedures that all Regional Centers use with a number of examples. While it was developed in 1999, most of the material is still quite relevant. The 782 page guide includes … Read more

Expressions of Wellness I: Pathways to Healthy Living

A Guide for Adults with Developmental Disabilities (2000) The California Department of Development Services (DDS) has funded a series of activities to promote Wellness which will help ensure access to quality medical, dental, and mental health services with an emphasis on positive health outcomes. Taking a leadership role in this statewide effort, DDS has conducted research, … Read more

Personalized Dementia Care

Person Centered Approach to providing Quality Care (more information here) CMS and the State of Minnesota requirements recognize the importance of educating staff on providing quality care for the folks that suffer from Dementia. By understanding some key facts about how a person with Dementia sees the world and some practical tools to ensure affective, … Read more

Supporting People with Severe Reputations in the Community

by Michael W. Smull and Susan Burke Harrison This handbook presents the tools needed to develop better community capacity to support people with severe reputations. For conceptual convenience, it is divided into four components: How people receive their reputations; How to plan with the individual for community services; How to recruit and develop the supports needed to … Read more

Finding A Way Toward Everyday Lives

by John O’Brien & Herbert Lovett (1992) This publication, so thoughtfully prepared by John O’Brien and Herb Lovett, describes the foundation of person-centered planning and its potential for creating a better future for people and for influencing change. It also addresses controversies and fears associated with [what was then] this new approach. While person-centered planning … Read more

National Core Indicators 10 Easy Steps User-Friendly Guide and User Friendly California Report

Created by The California Department of Developmental Services’ Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC) We were lucky enough to support the efforts of the CAC in developing this user guide for understanding the NCI User Friendly data reports. We worked on developing the first version of that report as well. National Core Indicators 10 Easy Steps User-Friendly … Read more

Supported Decision Making A guide for supporters

by Kate Fulton, Kellie Woodley & Helen Sanderson This guide offers people best practice techniques and tools that may be useful when supporting others with their decision-making. This includes those people who make their own decisions and those who may lack the capacity to do so and where decisions are made in their best interest. … Read more