CCDD - Supported Decision Making

The need and the desire for alternatives to guardianship both nationally and locally has been growing over the past few years. During that time, My Choice Kentucky - a project started in 2015 and housed at the Human Development Institute at the University of Kentucky (HDI) in partnership with Kentucky Protection and Advocacy (P&A) - has educated and supported people in Kentucky regarding supported decision-making (SDM) which is an increasingly popular alternative to guardianship. SDM is a paradigm in which people use trusted friends, family members, and professionals to help them make decisions. Based on the lessons learned from previous iterations of this project, the project team is now prepared to move forward with scaling up the scope of work of My Choice Kentucky. This larger project will involve: 1) providing support, technical assistance, and legal representation to individuals and their teams, and; 2) conducting training and educational opportunities for professional groups and other stakeholders. The relationships we have built and the connections we have made in the past three years will permit this project to have wide reach in Kentucky and beyond.