The Center for Public Representation (CPR) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a grant from the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council (MDDC) to address gaps in the adoption of Supported Decision-Making (SDM) across the state. Under this grant, CPR will focus on making SDM more available to linguistically, ethnically, and culturally diverse communities and intentionally integrating its Racial Equity Initiative into its SDM work. CPR will be:
- Developing an SDM training module and toolkit specifically designed for and vetted by people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families within underrepresented and underserved populations, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.
- Involving self-advocates and family members as subject matter experts and trainers.
- Piloting a culturally and linguistically competent training via two distinct and complementary strategies, including joint county-based forums with judges who have expressed interest in advancing SDM with CPR, as well as targeted outreach to family support centers funded by the Department on Developmental Services (DDS) and Massachusetts Interagency Transition Teams that serve diverse communities.
- Supporting and facilitating regular reconvening of MDDC’s guardianship work group, known as the Guardianship Alternatives Innovation Network (GAIN), to ensure collaboration with and input from diverse community members, including self-advocates, family members, guardians, and local and state advocacy organizations.
CPR will also providing technical assistance to MDDC’s peer-run training program in its efforts to develop an SDM training program for people with IDD, utilizing CPR’s decades worth of experience in advancing alternatives to guardianship, SDM, and self-determination of people with disabilities.
For more information or any questions, please contact Morgan K. Whitlatch, CPR’s Director of Supported Decision-Making Initiatives, at mwhitlatch@cpr-ma.org.
