Personal Centered Planning Meeting

Last week the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama had a meeting on personal centered planning for the Ability Alliance of West Alabama that I had attended on Wednesday of last week. Personal Centered Planning is a different approach to working with people with intellectual disabilities in regards to care taking and helping them to plan for their futures. Personal Centered Planning is geared around the individual that a case management employee works with regularly and determines the dreams, goals, and aspirations of the client that the client chooses and not the case management employee for the client. The goal of it is to create more interpendence for clients and for them to have the capability of making their own decisions and choices of what kind of job that they want to have, how they choose to spend their money, what kinds of daily activities that they want to participate in, what kinds of foods that they want to eat, and also what friends they want to have. It is all about the client making the choices on a personal level first and then if they request help from their case manager and or staff that works with them then they can indeed have the help that they need.
During this particular meeting on personal centered planning a presenter from Region II Community Services went over what personal centered planning is and how to incorporate within your agency. Another presenter from the Ability Alliance of West Alabama presented on case management changes that are occurring in the state of Alabama and how the AAWA will use the changes to its benefit. Overall the purpose of case management support and personal centered planning is for assistance for clients and also to help clients become active participants in society and even if possible become employed in the workplace and be able to make choices of what kind of work that best suits them.