Beyond Services to Clients: Are We Training Staff to Support Self-Determination and Consumer Decision Making?

As represented in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1999 Olmstead decision, our nation’s values and laws have moved to a point where states should be developing community supports and services with people, not for them. Yet many professionals were trained and agency protocols were set in motion in an earlier time period, when the current view was far from predominant. This research looks at how a sample of agencies within the State of Connecticut promotes self-determination.