Rhode Island Person Centered Planning Disability

What Person-Centered Planning Means in Practice

Person-centered planning is the foundation of Rhode Island's adult developmental disability services. Rather than fitting people into available program slots, person-centered planning starts with the individual: what do they want their daily life to look like, where do they want to work, who do they want to spend time with, and what supports make that possible?

For transition-age youth exiting the school system, this process shapes the Individual Support Plan submitted to BHDDH. The ISP isn't a school IEP with different branding — it's built around the young adult's own stated goals, using their own voice (with supporter assistance through a supported decision-making agreement if needed).

Agency-Managed vs Self-Directed Services

After BHDDH establishes eligibility and the SIS-A assessment determines the funding tier, families choose a service delivery model:

Agency-managed services work through an approved developmental disability organization. The agency employs the direct support professionals who work with the individual, handles scheduling and payroll, provides supervision, and manages regulatory compliance. Families who want a structured system with built-in backup staffing and administrative support often choose this model.

Self-directed services put the individual or their representative in control. The family hires their own staff, sets schedules, manages a personal budget, and makes day-to-day decisions about how support is delivered. A fiscal intermediary handles payroll mechanics and tax reporting, but the individual directs the services. This model offers more flexibility — the ability to hire a specific person the individual works well with, adjust schedules as needed, and allocate the budget across different service categories.

Both models are funded through the same BHDDH allocation determined by the SIS-A. The difference is in who controls the operational decisions.

The Consent Decree and Integrated Employment

Rhode Island's 2014 consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice fundamentally changed the state's approach to employment for people with developmental disabilities. The decree requires a shift from segregated sheltered workshops and segregated day programs to competitive integrated employment — real jobs in the community at or above minimum wage.

For young adults exiting school, this means the adult service system should be offering:

• Supported employment: job coaching, workplace accommodations, and ongoing support to maintain competitive employment
• Integrated day services: community-based activities during the day that build skills and social connections, rather than facility-based group programs
• Individual budgets: funding allocated to the person, not to a program, giving the individual and their team the ability to design supports around their goals

The decree's integration mandate means families have the right to insist on community-based options. When an agency defaults to offering segregated day programming, families can point to the consent decree and the individual's ISP goals as the basis for requesting integrated alternatives.

Connecting the School Years to Adult Employment

Pre-ETS work-based learning and community-based job trials during the school years are the strongest predictors of post-school employment success. Students who have real work experience — not simulated tasks in a classroom — are more likely to transition into competitive integrated employment.

The Career Development Plan in the IEP should build progressively from career exploration (ages 14–16) to specific work trials (ages 17–19) to employment placement support (ages 20–22). When the BHDDH caseworker attends the final IEP meeting, the work history documented in the CDP directly informs the employment goals in the ISP.

The Rhode Island IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide includes a service model comparison worksheet, a person-centered planning template, and tools for tracking work-based learning experiences that feed into the adult ISP.

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