AOD - Supported Decision Making Across the Lifespan Planning Grant

The Kansas Self-Determination Coalition (KSDC), led by the Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities with partners including the Kansas Association of Area Agencies on Aging and Disabilities, Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities (KCDD), the Disability Rights Center (DRC), older adults, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), families, guardians, judges, legislators, and professionals proposes this project to develop statewide action plans for advancing the self-determination of older adults and people with I/DD through the use of the full range of decisional supports.

The goal of this project is to develop action plans to ensure that older adults and people with I/DD will in Kansas will:

1. Have access to more strategies to support their decision-making;
2. Be able to detect abuse, neglect, and exploitation easier because they are able to make decisions about how they live their lives; and
3. Select their preferred autonomous means of supporting their decision-making. 

The objectives of this project are:

1. Develop action plans to address barriers to older adults and people with I/DD learning about, accessing, and using the full range of decisional supports, including Supported Decision-Making (SDM);
2. Identify, develop, and pilot-test best practices in educating and empowering older adults, people with I/DD, families, and professionals to use the full range of decisional supports, including SDM;
3. Develop and pilot-test a train-the-trainer model empowering older adults, people with I/DD, families, and professionals to plan and implement a full range of decisional supports, including SDM;
4. Develop and collect data using an evaluation protocol to document quality of life outcomes resulting from older adults and people with I/DD using a full range of decisional supports, including SDM.