Instead, it was decided he should move back into a group home, where he could be more carefully watched. If the plan had been followed, his family says, Stephen Boomer Jr. might be alive today. Focusing on strengths Even several years after state law required person-centered planning for public mental health clients, county agencies are still learning how to do it and the state is still learning how to regulate it, said Glenn Stanton. Ideally, the client picks the time and place for the meeting and invites supportive people, such as friends and family. The conversation is supposed to center around the person's strengths, not weaknesses.
Specific steps are to be written down.
Sometimes more meetings are needed. Often, if the plan calls for a big move, it will specify extra support at the beginning, such as 24-hour supervision. In the two months after Boomer's plan was drawn up in July, his behavior grew worse, his family contends. Case file reports show he continued to verbally abuse the duplex staff. His hygiene problems continued.