Almost four hundred people attended the day-long session on strategies for crisis prevention and response. The Division of Developmental Services is working with a group of providers, advocates, consumers and families to develop a practical, working conception of how consumers can become more directly involved in their services. We are basing our efforts on the concept of self-determination and its underlying principles. Self-determination means that people with developmental disabilities, with appropriate assistance from family and friends, will determine their own futures and contract for their own supports. Self-determination is transferring control to people with developmental disabilities.
All people have the right to define their lives and shape their future.
Every individual may assume the right to choose and exercise control over his or her own life. People are capable of making choices that define their lives, and they should be supported to the fullest extent possible in order to make their choices. Self-determination facilitates people's ability to make choices that define their lives. To help us with our application, we invited Don Shumway here for technical assistance. Don was formerly Director of New Hampshire's Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services, and now he is Co-Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's National Program Office for the Institute of Disability.