New Jersey State Team

Supported Decision-Making (SDM) Planning

The New Jersey state team seeks to promote supported decision-making as a more widely accepted alternative to guardianship. Our team includes our youth ambassadors, the NJ Council on Developmental Disabilities, The Boggs Center for Developmental Disabilities, the NJ Statewide Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN), and Disability Rights NJ.

As part of the community of practice, the team will educate itself on best practices from outside the state and from experts here in New Jersey. In turn, we will then educate individuals with I/DD, families, educators/school system personnel, the judiciary, disability attorneys, advocacy organizations, and support coordination agencies about the value of self-determination and supported decision-making. We envision a multimedia approach that will include webinars, written materials, videos, and other forms of media complimented by the youth ambassadors’ projects. Guardianship is systematically entrenched as the default option for youth with disabilities upon reaching adulthood, so we ultimately hope to change that restrictive culture through education.