Maine Developmental Disabilities Council

Mainers receiving developmental disabilities experience guardianship at nearly double the rate of their peers in the US. Supported decision-making (SDM) is a strategy by which an individual with a disability works with a trusted network of supporters to make choices about his or her own life. It can be used instead of or in conjunction with substituted decision making. Supported decision making will be included in the probate code as of July 2019. In 2018, MDDC

• Supported the evaluation of a pilot that developed and executed a curriculum aimed at increasing individual’s and families’ capacity for decision making so that they could consider terminating guardianships
• Funded a pilot to utilize evidence-based promising practices curricula for teaching supported decision making that are appropriate for young people and their families.
• Supported the development of a handbook about supported decision making for Maine families: http://supportmydecision.org/assets/tools/DRM-SDM-Handbook-Rev.-01.09.19.pdf

MDDC also supports outreach and self-advocate training regarding civil rights and guardianship through its contract with Maine’s statewide self-advocacy organization.