Supported Decision-Making New York (SDMNY)

General Description

Since 2016, the Supported Decision-Making New York (SDMNY) pilot project has done extraordinary work to advance the legal, social, and human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), educating stakeholders and piloting two programs (one to divert persons from guardianship, the other to restore the rights of those subject to guardianship orders), utilizing the emerging practice of supported decision-making as a less restrictive alternative to guardianship. Persons with I/DD (“Decision-Makers” or “DMs”) have worked one-on-one with SDMNY-trained facilitators throughout a three-phase process to help them choose supporters and enter into Supported Decision-Making Agreements with them.