Person-centered planning: evidence-based practice, challenges, and potential for the 21st century

Person-centered planning emerged in the 1990s as an innovative practice to assist persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The foundational purpose of person-centered planning is to assist the individual in developing service planning that reflects the needs and desires of the focal person with the disability. Despite its popularity with disability practitioners, advocates, and policy stakeholders, debate emerged at the beginning of the 21st century as to the viability of person-centered planning as an evidence-based practice. This article examines the historical development and evidence base, as well as the current challenges and potential of person-centered planning for adults with intellectual disabilities.