Sounding a certain trumpet: case management as a catalyst for the empowerment of people with developmental...

The Developmental Disabilities Assistance Act of 1987 (P.L. 100-146) conceptualized case management as a process by which to "increase and support the independence, productivity and integration into the community of people with disabilities." There is a call from people experiencing disabilities to meet this mandate by a process of empowerment, enabling them to assume control of and responsibility for issues impacting their daily life. This article examines current outcomes and expectancies pertaining to integration, independence and productivity and suggests an orientation within which individual empowerment and self-determination, and consequently independence, and integration, are central outcomes.