The SDS Network has drafted a statement for consultation on best practice on self-directed support.
Self-Directed Support means organising help and assistance so that people who need help are able to live with freedom and are included as full and valued citizens within the community. This document provides a set of standards based on global learning.
During 2021 to 2022, a small group of self-direction advocates (who identify as people with disabilities, researchers, and providers) met regularly to plan an international gathering to expand and enhance self-directed support. The event was part of the International Initiative for Disability Leadership and built from a previous events in 2019. The goal of the convening was to develop a statement describing the essential elements self-directed support. Over several virtual meetings in 2022, 30 participants from New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Canada, Ireland, Finland, and England engaged in discussion and sharing and reviewed, discussed, and amended the draft standards. The standards were then presented during the IIDL Learning Exchange in Washington, D.C. in October 2022 with additional discussion amongst participants. The standards were also subject to a further cycle of consultation and improvement through 2023 and were published in 2024.
The SDS Network has been established to publish this statement and to revise and improve it over time. You can find out more about the SDS Network here.
The following are essential elements of a self-directed support system:
Download a pdf version of the Global Standards for Self-Directed Support here.
Our thanks to Clare Tarling for her support in producing an easy read version of the Global Standards for Self-Directed Support, download the pdf here.
disability, Self-Directed Support, social care, Global, Article
USA
Senior Research Associate and Director of the Behavioral Health team at the Human Services Research Institute
Canada
Co-Director of the Centre for Inclusion and Citizenship & joint coordinator of Citizen Network Canada
USA
Senior Research Associate and Director of the Behavioral Health team at the Human Services Research Institute
Canada
Co-Director of the Centre for Inclusion and Citizenship & joint coordinator of Citizen Network Canada