Director's Blog
Written by Jon Meyers, Executive Director.
Something amazing just happened. Something Arizona disability advocates have been working toward for years has finally been achieved.
Supported Decision-Making is now a legally recognized alternative to guardianship in Arizona. With this year’s Senate Bill 1291, the legislation disability advocates and self-advocates have been fighting for since 2018 is now written into Arizona law, passed by the Legislature,and signed by the Governor.
Let the celebration – and the implementation – begin!
If you don’t know about Supported Decision-Making, or SDM, you soon will. It’s a decades-old concept, adopted into law by dozens of countries around the world and gaining momentum here in the United States. More than 20 states have laws on the books recognizing it (Arizona marks the 21st). More soon will follow.
In Arizona, we talk often of personal liberty and personal responsibility. For people with I/DD, nothing captures the spirit of both more than the liberty and responsibility bestowed by a Supported Decision-Making arrangement.
Unlike guardianship, SDM provides a framework to ensure individuals with disabilities retain the right to make their own decisions about how they will live their lives using the advice, guidance, and assistance of a volunteer team of people who are important to them. It's no different from the counsel people without disabilities receive from friends, neighbors, family members, or co-workers each and every day on such weighty questions as what career to pursue or what kind of home to buy, or such routine matters as which restaurant to choose for dinner.
Guardianship, while occasionally necessary, strips individuals of their rights – to vote, to choose where they live or work, to select who they will have relationships with, and more – and denies them the dignity associated with making decisions about what matters to them in life. It also, on too many occasions, is imposed when it isn’t necessary.
ADDPC started funding a Supported Decision-Making pilot project in 2018; the passage of this year’s legislation is in large part due to the success of that project in educating policymakers about its benefits. The Council also just approved funding for a new SDM outreach and education program to start this year.
ADDPC has long championed this concept and the Council welcomes the new era brought about with passage of SB 1291. We will be at the forefront of expanding awareness and adoption of SDM across the state. And we invite you to join us, to learn more about this remarkable step forward, and to help build a movement that embraces Supported Decision-Making.
Arizonans with I/DD deserve nothing less.
