Person-Centered Planning

Person-centered planning is a process for selecting and organizing the services and supports that a person with a disability may need to live, work, and recreate in the community. The purpose of person-centered planning is to discover what a meaningful life looks like for the person and to identify the supports, both paid and unpaid, they need to achieve that life.

It is important to remember that person-centered planning is, at its core, about the person who must always be at the center of the planning process.

Person-centered planning works for people of all ages and abilities. It is not something you do to or for a person; instead, the planning process is directed by the person, with just the right amount of support from family members, a support coordinator, peer educator, or other independent staff who the person wishes to include in the creation or refinement of their plan.

A successful person-centered plan will:

1. Remain strengths-based, culturally informed, and whole-person focused.
2. Achieve balance between what is important to the person and what is important for the person.
3. Clearly reflect the person’s goals and outline a plan to achieve them, as well as how to monitor progress.
4. Help cultivate connection, both within the system and larger community.
5. Protect and preserve the person’s rights, including the right to choice, control, and freedom from coercion.
6. Focus on partnerships, respectful communication, and collaboration.