Guardianship and Alternatives

Person-centered is about making sure people with disabilities influence and lead decisions made about their lives. The following strategies support person-centered approaches:

• pay attention to what the individual with the disability likes, is good at, and wants to achieve
• build trust and relate
• find the best way to talk with the person so they can share their thoughts comfortably
• figure out how much help is needed for different activities
• give choices and talk about what might happen with each choice
• support decision-making (that matches the person’s values, even if they're different from what others would choose)
• give useful information and resources that help a person decide wisely
• check-in and talk about how to keep helping in the best way

Supported decision-making gives people with disabilities resources to make their own decisions using the people they trust, such as:

• family members,
• friends,
• community resource personnel (e.g. family friends who are bankers or nurses), and
• organization staff (e.g. Center for Independent Living, state advocacy organization, legal aid, etc.).

Supported decision-making:

• is significantly less restrictive than power of attorney or guardianship
• retains the individual’s autonomy over their life choices
• can range from informal and organic, to official with a formal written plan
• allows for the person with a disability to ask different people (or community resources) to help with different decisions, such as medical, social, and financial

A power of attorney (POA) allows an individual with a disability to pick certain aspects of their life that they want another trusted adult to make decisions about (e.g., managing money, healthcare decisions, etc.). It gives the person permission to act on the individual's behalf when they cannot themselves.

There are different types of POAs:

• General POA allows managing many different money and legal issues for an individual with a disability.
• Limited POA allows decisions to be made only in certain situations or for specific things, like selling a house or doing tax returns.
• Durable POA is valid when someone cannot make decisions anymore because of a disability. It's good for anyone who wants to make sure someone can still manage their affairs if they're unable to.
• Medical POA, sometimes called a healthcare proxy, only allows medical decisions (e.g. treatment options, surgeries, and end of life) by the other individual.

POAs are flexible and, because they are a signed document, can be changed to fit an individual's needs. State judicial administrative branches typically have free POA forms you can use.