Imagine Fairfield MRDD

A Plan for the Future of the Fairfield County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities and the Services and Supports Provided to Persons with Developmental Disabilities

To open and print the Imagine Fairfield MRDD, you need the free plug-in, Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can get by clicking here.

Imagine Fairfield MRDD full document

Imagine Fairfield MRDD Newsletter

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What does Self-Determination mean?

Self-determination refers to the right of all people, including those with disabilities, to determine their own future and decide how they want to live, work, and socialize within their community. Self-determination can be summed up by the following statement:

“When individuals with developmental disabilities and their families have control of the resources used to support them, their quality of life will improve and costs will go down.”

This clear and measurable definition of self-determination must be accepted as a whole, for we cannot have self-determination without people having greater control of their own lives and the services and supports they need. This change in control must result in improvement of opportunities and conditions experienced by the individual, and, overall, the cost of services and supports must be reduced in real and/or projected dollars.

Robert Morgan, Superintendent of the Delaware County Board, states “It is the balance of this thesis that brings individuals with disabilities, their families, advocates, professionals, and the general public to consensus and commitment to self-determination. This is a win-win proposition for everyone...a promise of equitable distribution of public dollars and greater control and independence for people with disabilities.”

There is a risk that “self-determination” will become a term that people use constantly with little true understanding of its import. True self-determination includes the following four key principles:

FREEDOM: Through individualized budgets, people with disabilities will be able to use public dollars to build a life rather than to purchase pre-determined programs.

AUTHORITY: Individuals with developmental disabilities will have meaningful control over a set amount of dollars that can be used to build the supports they need. They will be able to purchase only what is needed and pay for only what is received.

SUPPORT: Support is the opposite of “programming.” Individuals with disabilities will be assisted to nurture informal relationships with family and friends as part of a support network. For those individuals who currently do not have these resources in place, we will work to create this informal network.

RESPONSIBILITY: People with disabilities will assume responsibility for giving back to their communities, for seeking employment whenever possible, and for developing their unique gifts and talents. Staff of the Fairfield County Board of MR/DD, both contracted and otherwise, will support people as they take on this responsibility.

Nancy Weiss, Executive Director of TASH, states that “when it comes to disability supports, the world as we know it is changing. All of us have the opportunity to participate in the major policy changes coming down the pike. We can choose to hunker down and try to figure out ways to continue business-as-usual in the face of significant opportunities for change or we can join together, embrace the opportunity, and figure out how to leverage the changes that are coming to build communities, schools and workplaces that include, value, engage and challenge children and adults with disabilities.”

Links to Self Determination Sites

The sites listed on this page are not created, maintained, or endorsed by the Fairfield County Board of MRDD.

The Center for Self-Determination: The Center for Self-Determination is not a place. It is a highly interactive working collaborative of individuals and organizations committed to the principles of Self-Determination. http://self-determination.com/

The State of Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Self-Determination link http://odmrdd.state.oh.us/Includes/SelfDetermination/SelfDet_Main.htm

Free Internet Course: Self-Management and Self-Determination Strategies By enrolling in this course, you can expect to learn some new ways to teach students to be more independent. Many students who are making the transition from school to adult life have not developed the skills they need to make decisions, complete work assignments, or be assertive on their own. Consequently, when they no longer have the support provided in their high school settings, they may have difficulty performing everyday activities by themselves in their daily lives. This course will teach you how to promote students' self-management and self-determination skills in order that these students may increase their independence as they leave high school and enter their adult lives. http://www.vcu.edu/rrtcweb/techlink/courses.html