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Supporting people with disabilities in managing individual budgets: the role of support brokers
Emma D Quach1, Darlene Dee O'Connor, Erin McGaffigan
1University of Massachusetts Medical School, Shrewsbury, USA. emma.quach@umassmed.edu
Purpose:
Nationwide people with disabilities are self-directing their long-term care supports through individual budgets. Because these individuals may rely on a "support broker" to assist them in making and executing decisions regarding their budgets, the interactions between the participant and the support broker can influence participant autonomy.
Primary Practice Setting:
Massachusetts piloted a program for 14 participants to receive individual budgets for home and community-based services. Central to this pilot were the participant-designated support brokers, including home care case managers and peer advocates.
Findings/Conclusions:
Analysis of data on participants and support brokers indicated that the support brokers struggled with when, how, and how much to assist participants to self-direct.
Implications For Case Management Practice:
Case managers or other providers assuming the support broker's role will need proper training if they are to respond skillfully to challenging situations self-direction may bring.
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