ANCOR believes that freedom of choice is a basic human right.
ANCOR believes all people should be empowered to make informed choices and to have both the authority and the responsibility to control their own decision-making with respect to all aspects of their lives including the supports and services they receive or desire, to the full extent of their ability.
ANCOR believes that all people have the right to assert his or her preferences in every aspect of their life.
ANCOR recognizes that there is not a universally accepted or understood definition for the term 'self-direction.'
Therefore, ANCOR will use the term 'self-direction' to describe the concepts stated in this position.
ANCOR believes that:
Any final decision about whether an individual will participate in self-directed activity must be made by the person and/or his/her family.
People served must be directly involved with the development, administration and evaluation of all public and private policies that relate to self-direction.
All people are able to and should exert direction over their own life to the maximum extent possible.
Self-direction can occur in any living environment.
Self-direction is a key to full community participation.
Successful self-direction requires prior information and ongoing support.
Self-directed supports and services can assist people served to realize their unique dreams and desires and have greater control over their own destiny.
Self-direction should be based on person-centered planning or other similar person-centered assessment, planning and implementation strategies.
Self-direction is inclusive of a broad range of individual life choices and should not be limited to one aspect of a person’s life. It should include individual choices and control in the areas of employment, transportation, housing, socialization, medical treatment, leisure, religious and spiritual activity, financial management, support staff, etc.
People served must be supported to vote, to be included on community and agency boards, to develop self-advocacy skills and groups, and to develop leadership skills.
It must identify and strive to eliminate legal, financial, regulatory, health and safety, and other barriers to self-direction.
ANCOR believes that full and true self-direction must be accomplished based on certain fundamental principles:
SUPPORTS
Development of supports and services in a manner that assures that the individual and/or his/her family will be adequately educated and assisted to make informed choices.
Collaborative, leading practice support and technical assistance from people who receive supports and services, professionals, funders, families, researchers, and other stakeholders.
Ability of all people to choose their support system although it may not be his/her family.
QUALITY ASSURANCE
People engaged in self-directed lifestyle must be supported in a manner that assures acceptable quality of life.
Self-direction must not present undue risk. Individual risks faced by people supported and providers must be proactively identified, managed and respected by all relevant stakeholders. Where practical, risk should be shared.
Compliance with legal, regulatory, financial, health and safety standards.
Benchmarking, establishment of quality performance markers, and measurement and analysis of outcomes.
Development and use of customer satisfaction tools that seek input from people supported and family members as well as other stakeholders.
Equitable expectations for all public and private entities providing management and/or delivery of self-directed supports and services.
Required monitoring reflective of existing levels of customer satisfaction, quality assurance, risk management and accountability.
RESOURCES
Maintenance of high quality supports and resources that have been developed over the past years.
Availability of an adequately trained, paid, retained and supported workforce to assist people to achieve their goals.
Adequate financial resources without unrealistic dependency on family, natural and/or other unpaid supports.
Financial resources that would ordinarily be available under traditional funding mechanisms to aid in the fulfillment of individual goals and aspirations.
