New "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. The purpose of the collaborative is to change the nature of the support and service system for individuals with disabilities, using the principles of self-determination to help all persons create the lives they want, connected to and with their communities.

Hosted by Community Living Services of Wayne County, Michigan, the Center is composed of two inter-related initiatives: a grassroots movement to promote the principles of self-determination across the country and a training and technical assistance center. The grassroots movement is committed to an equal partnership among self advocates, family members and professionals/direct support workers who will create networks that will be linked together. These partnerships, which begin at the local and state level, are committed to new forms of leadership and the creation of true communities where individuals with disabilities and those committed to them will take their positions as both leaders and teachers. The Center is committed as well to support the development and recognize the leadership of the self advocacy movement.

The education and technical assistance component will make multiple, interactive learning opportunities available to all those committed to the five principles of self-determination: freedom to choose a meaningful life in the community; authority over a targeted amount of dollars; support to organize resources in ways that are life enhancing and meaningful to the individual with a disability; responsibility for the

wise use of public dollars and recognition of the contribution individuals with disabilities can make to their communities; and confirmation of the important leadership role that self advocates must play in a newly redesigned system and support for the self advocacy movement.

The Center will offer assistance to individuals and organizations that are attempting to change their systems of support based upon self-determination principles. It will build upon the rapidly growing experience and learning about creating individual budgets, developing support coordinators who work for each individual receiving support, designing effective ways to help people pay for the support and services they purchase, and helping public and private agencies create the needed changes in their organizational structures.

Just as important, the Center for self-determination will address the difficult issues which are emerging more clearly as we work across North America on helping people create more meaningful lives. A few of these issues include the impoverishment of individuals with disabilities together with the near impoverishment of those who most directly support them; the slow pace of employment and lack of entrepreneurial opportunities; outdated guardianship statutes and practices; many systems' dependence upon property and costly mortgages; quality assurance which depends upon rules and monitors and ignores the importance of people's relationships with families and other allies; the lack of equity and fairness in distributing public dollars; and the lack of attention to the simple and profound needs of the people we support for relationships, love and spiritual connection.

As a network of individuals and organizations, the Center for self-determination will be managed in a non-hierarchical way by a consortium representing an equal partnership among people with disabilities, family allies and key professionals and policy makers. The Center will create a network of affiliated sites committed to grassroots organizing and systems change, including individuals with extensive experience in implementing the principles of self-determination. The Center will support multiple connections and accelerate the learning among individuals and organizations, beginning at the local level. Where local or state groups are already organized for grassroots support or for systems change based upon self-determination principles, the Center will connect those groups with one another, sharing ideas, resources, and questions. Where such groups need support to form or to grow, the Center will offer initial or ongoing assistance.

The Center will have the capacity to bring people together using web sites and other internet technology. A currently available web site (self-determination.com) will evolve to help create and support individual, local, and state or provincial sites that will provide continually updated information throughout the network. Discussion groups will be facilitated on specific areas of interest, with new groups forming as the learning continues and new issues emerge.

The Center will work to accelerate the capacity of self-advocates and families to access internet technology. Recognizing the current limitations of technology, both in terms of availability and what it can do well and not so well, the Center will effectively connect the network by other means as well, including:

* A regularly published newsletter;

* A resource list of local "practitioners," individuals who have experience and knowledge to share about their experiences in implementing self-determination principles in their lives, organizations or systems. The list will describe the particular areas of knowledge, expertise or wisdom of each person, and how to contact them. This will be a primary source of knowledge and education for the network. An important element of the work of the Center will be to identify and support the leadership of local people in sharing expertise and knowledge;

* Ready access to individuals who have extensive experience in implementing the principles of self-determination across localities, states and regions;

* A capacity to organize or participate in a variety of local, state and regional learning opportunities, including workshops on specific topics and learning retreats of varying intensity.

* An ability to host retreats to explore and deepen our understanding of emerging issues.

By developing an open and continually evolving network, the Center for self-determination is designed to support a different kind of learning. It is created to foster and support active participation and leadership by every member, whether individual or organization. By working together in this way, the wisdom and experience of each individual will be tapped as we change our systems to enable all persons to create the lives they want, connected to and with our communities.