My Life...My Way--Self-Determination Conference

"My Life...My Way" Self-Determination

Conference Report

Conference Overview

The 2nd annual My Life…My Way Self-Determination conference was held in beautiful downtown San Diego on November 20 and 21, 2003. Over 325 representatives of regions across the country including the east, the south, the mid-west, and the northwest came together for another exciting year of sharing information and inspiration about self-determination efforts nationwide. Joining this group of self-advocates, family members, professionals and experts in service brokerage and individualized funding, were parents and professionals from Canada and the United Kingdom. The conference focused on Self-Determination and individualized funding with the clear understanding that the consumer needs to be in the center of decision making, over needed community services and supports.
Learning about self-determination
This year over 100 of the conference participants joined in day long pre-conference sessions focused on the practical skills of person centered planning and independent service brokerage. Participants spent the day in hands on activities and participation as leading experts in both areas facilitated these exciting workshop experiences.

The full conference began with insightful keynote presentations by Tom Nerney, Michael Smull and Steve Dowson, inviting attendees to celebrate the successes gained in our mutual efforts to help all citizens be fully self determining, while we continue our diligence to identify and eliminate the barriers that stand in the way of all citizens with developmental disabilities as they pursue the road to full citizenship.

Speakers joining the conference included representatives from the People First Organization of San Diego, several project participants and their families, individuals representing all five of the California projects currently involved in individualized funding efforts, professionals, parents and family members from other states and countries, as well as representatives from California's state assembly and the Department of Developmental Services.

The conference featured major presentations by some of the foremost leaders in public policy development in the United States: Dr. John Agosta, Vice President, Human Services Research Institute, Dr. Chas Moseley, Director, Special Projects, National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disability Services, and Dr. Kevin Mahoney, National Project Director of the Cash and Counseling Demonstration and Evaluation Program.

Some observations from the conference are noted below:

Self-advocates are much better organized and have more influence over policy development in the United States than in Canada. The People First Organization was well represented at the conference.
The "change process" in the United States is led primarily by policy makers and legislators, unlike Canada, where the parent movement is more organized and politically influential.
Many states use either pre-authorized budgets, with set amounts, or rates which set individual allocations at 90% of historical expenditure patterns.
Fiscal policy in the US, is complicated due to the "strings" attached to Federal funds. The Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) system is heavily influenced by the traditional long term care nursing system. States wishing to implement self-directed services are required to write "Medicaid Waivers".
In the United States and Canada, there are fewer financial resources and increased demand for services, creating serious pressures on community programs.

Participants reported that the conference was not only educational and inspiring but that the opportunity to network with others was very valuable. Many related that they left with renewed insight and encouragement to use some of the creative strategies discussed in the conference breakout sessions to effect systems change in their own neighborhoods.

The closing keynotes highlighted San Diego's own Steering Committee's co-chairs, Kim Rucker and Judy Wallace-Patton, as well as Dr. John Agosta and Sue Swenson. Each speaker challenged and inspired participants to be actively involved in local efforts to effect system wide change, and to continue to educate others, and advocate for full inclusion of all persons in their communities. The conference ended with a thoughtful photo-montage of the three days' activities put together by Brian Salisbury of Canada and Dan Clark of the San Diego Regional Center.

Pre-Conference on Essential Lifestyle Plan with Michael Smull

Essential Lifestyle Plans focus on the individual

On Wednesday, November 19, 2003, Michael Smull and Alison Short delivered a fast-paced interactive presentation to 80 self-advocates, family members and professionals on developing an Essential Lifestyle Plan, using the People Planning Workbook. Michael interviewed a self-advocate and led the other attendees to construct plans on themselves. Some attendees had facilitators assist them with building their plans.

Michael noted "Essential lifestyle Planning: or other forms of person-centered planning (e.g. MAPS, PATHs or Circles) have dramatically different focus than traditional ways of planning. He said that the old way of planning focused on:

What is wrong with you?
What Services should you get?
What should you do to become healthier and more independent?

The person-centered planning highlights your abilities, preferences, relationships and dreams. He stressed the importance of knowing the differences between "what is important to" an individual and "what is important for". The former reflects an individual's values and priorities while the later relates to cause and effect. He stressed, for the plan to be successful, it is very important to have a balance between "important to" and "important for." He warned that a plan that doesn't respect "important to" is headed for confrontation and potential failure.Michael recommended four important reasons for writing a plan on yourself:

To learn more about yourself
To help other people understand how to support you
To give to your case manager/support coordinator to use in developing your plan together
To write your own person centered plan for your support agency to use.

For further information on "Essential Lifestyle Planning" please visit this
website: http://www.elpnet.net

Conference Handouts/Presentations

At the "My Life... My Way" Self-Determination & Person Centered Planning Conference and Pre-Conference keynote speakers and lecturers provided their attending audience with a wealth of information and handouts that summarized important points of their respective presentations. You can access copies of their presentation summaries by clicking on the links below. Download the Registration Book (PDF) to review conference speakers and presentations.

Pre-conference Presentations

Conference Presentations/Keynote Address