In late 2009 and 2010 the Maine Coalition for Housing and Quality Services initiated a parent-led project to redesign, from the ground up, a system of care for persons with developmental or intellectual disabilities. This began with a visual and conceptual diagram, evolved to a narrative, a structural design for implementation, goals and action steps to achieve them, and notes about what parents specifically don't want to repeat from the current system of care. The Coalition completed the White Paper in September 2011. In 2012 the Maine Legislature created the LD 1816 Developmental Services Workgroup which was charged with studying ways to create a more efficient and effective service delivery system. This Legislatively appointed workgroup soon decided that the Coalition’s White Paper proposed a service delivery model that addressed nearly all of the concerns the Workgroup was tasked to solve. Focusing on the first four pages of the five page White Paper, the Workgroup made modest language changes to the document while maintaining the content. The Workgroup version was finalized after receiving input from the Coalition in January 2013.
On February 1, 2013 the Developmental Services Workgroup adopted the following interim report to be sent to the Legislature through the DHHS Commissioner. This is now a document that is endorsed by the LD1816 Developmental Services Workgroup and the Maine Coalition for Housing and Quality Services.
This means that people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, parents, service providers, DHHS, Special Education providers, advocates, and Transition Specialists all are working from the same page unified in their support for a new approach for service delivery in Maine.
In late 2019 and early 2020, the DD CoC diagram was revised in order to be a more user-friendly tool for advocacy and education. The diagram is accompanied by the Principles for Developing a Continuum of Support. Both were adopted by the Maine Coalition for Housing and Quality Services on 1/13/2020.
Click here for the revised diagram and the Principles for Developing a Continuum of Support
Click Here for Final Version, as adopted by the LD 1816 Developmental Services Workgroup and the Maine Coalition for Housing and Quality Services, as amended at the March Meeting of the Maine Coalition for Housing and Quality Services
Please Click Here for Original Coalition White Paper
Please Click Here for Research on how other states are providing services and housing
Narrative:
The service model proposed in this document puts the person in the center. It highlights transitions across the person's lifespan and maximizes the use of natural support and community inclusion.
Community inclusion and self-determination are based on the assumption that the person is a part of and connected within the community. It means the person is engaged socially, recreationally, culturally, and/or spiritually. The person is a productive and valued community member, pursuing talents and giving back to others. The person individuates from parents and caregivers, makes informed choices, and is respected through typical interactions with others as part of a community. The person belongs.
The proposed service model takes into account that community is not a "thing" or place. It is different and interpreted differently by every individual. Community is defined by the person and not by the service system. Community may be relationships, activities, and relevant partnerships within an individual’s life. This may change or evolve with the time of year, life, and/or access.
People with intellectual or developmental disabilities rely, like everyone else, on natural support. This includes family, friends, neighbors, and local support like public transportation, public recreation, church, and medical professionals. Individuals with disabilities may need added support due to unique challenges at various times in the lifespan.
When considering support, we want to look first for local, informal support. Only where there are gaps should we add in supplemental paid formal support to maximize independence, self-reliance, choice, and dignity of risk. Any supplemental formal support, such as those required for unique or complicated medical conditions, must be flexible and designed to meet the person where he or she is. Support may ebb and flow over the lifespan as the individual’s needs change. Quality flexible wraparound support means varying services as needed (from minimal to maximum) to promote personal development, safety, stability, and inclusion.
The series of circles in the diagram to follow describe various needs for the person throughout their lifespan. Of these circles, community inclusion, employment or related activity, and housing stand out. Quality flexible paid support stands in the background rather than being a central focus. Beyond that, various circles gain prominence based on each individual’s unique needs. Natural community support becomes the backbone of each person’s autonomy and independence.
The circles are self-explanatory: Stable housing, transportation, employment, healthcare, financial support, continuing education, and planning for aging, all allowing community inclusion and self-determination – central to the person’s life.
Transition presumes that the person begins as a child under parental care, transitions to adulthood, and thrives in a world where community support, as needed, is present as part of a responsive support network. This requires an individual, family, community, and government partnership, where support for any individual is not artificial but closest to “typical” for anyone.
On February 1, 2013 the Developmental Services Workgroup adopted the following interim report to be sent to the Legislature through the DHHS Commissioner. This is now a document that is endorsed by the LD1816 Developmental Services Workgroup and the Maine Coalition for Housing and Quality Services.
This means that people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, parents, service providers, DHHS, Special Education providers, advocates, and Transition Specialists all are working from the same page unified in their support for a new approach for service delivery in Maine.
In late 2019 and early 2020, the DD CoC diagram was revised in order to be a more user-friendly tool for advocacy and education. The diagram is accompanied by the Principles for Developing a Continuum of Support. Both were adopted by the Maine Coalition for Housing and Quality Services on 1/13/2020.
Click here for the revised diagram and the Principles for Developing a Continuum of Support
Click Here for Final Version, as adopted by the LD 1816 Developmental Services Workgroup and the Maine Coalition for Housing and Quality Services, as amended at the March Meeting of the Maine Coalition for Housing and Quality Services
Please Click Here for Original Coalition White Paper
Please Click Here for Research on how other states are providing services and housing
Narrative:
The service model proposed in this document puts the person in the center. It highlights transitions across the person's lifespan and maximizes the use of natural support and community inclusion.
Community inclusion and self-determination are based on the assumption that the person is a part of and connected within the community. It means the person is engaged socially, recreationally, culturally, and/or spiritually. The person is a productive and valued community member, pursuing talents and giving back to others. The person individuates from parents and caregivers, makes informed choices, and is respected through typical interactions with others as part of a community. The person belongs.
The proposed service model takes into account that community is not a "thing" or place. It is different and interpreted differently by every individual. Community is defined by the person and not by the service system. Community may be relationships, activities, and relevant partnerships within an individual’s life. This may change or evolve with the time of year, life, and/or access.
People with intellectual or developmental disabilities rely, like everyone else, on natural support. This includes family, friends, neighbors, and local support like public transportation, public recreation, church, and medical professionals. Individuals with disabilities may need added support due to unique challenges at various times in the lifespan.
When considering support, we want to look first for local, informal support. Only where there are gaps should we add in supplemental paid formal support to maximize independence, self-reliance, choice, and dignity of risk. Any supplemental formal support, such as those required for unique or complicated medical conditions, must be flexible and designed to meet the person where he or she is. Support may ebb and flow over the lifespan as the individual’s needs change. Quality flexible wraparound support means varying services as needed (from minimal to maximum) to promote personal development, safety, stability, and inclusion.
The series of circles in the diagram to follow describe various needs for the person throughout their lifespan. Of these circles, community inclusion, employment or related activity, and housing stand out. Quality flexible paid support stands in the background rather than being a central focus. Beyond that, various circles gain prominence based on each individual’s unique needs. Natural community support becomes the backbone of each person’s autonomy and independence.
The circles are self-explanatory: Stable housing, transportation, employment, healthcare, financial support, continuing education, and planning for aging, all allowing community inclusion and self-determination – central to the person’s life.
Transition presumes that the person begins as a child under parental care, transitions to adulthood, and thrives in a world where community support, as needed, is present as part of a responsive support network. This requires an individual, family, community, and government partnership, where support for any individual is not artificial but closest to “typical” for anyone.