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The Emerging Practice of Supported Decision-Making: Assisting People with Disabilities and Implications for Practice with Older Adults

FRIDAY, September 27, 2024
10:00 am ��� 12:00 pm (eastern time)
Live Webinar on Zoom
(You will need to register to receive login information)

Registration: 2 CEU Credit Hours

General:  Through Sept. 17, $50; Sept. 18-26, $60

Wurzweiler Alumni and Current WSSW Field Instructors: Through Sept. 17, $40; Sept. 17-26, $50

All Current Students: $15

Registration closes on 9/26/24 at 5:00 Eastern Time (EST)

Supported decision-making (SDM) has emerged as an important practice by which people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), older persons with cognitive decline, and persons with psychosocial disabilities are able to make their own decisions with the support of trusted people in their lives. 

From its most informal iteration, to written agreements between Decision-Makers and their supporters, to a legal document that requires third parties to accept the decisions of people with disabilities, regardless of those disabilities, SDM is now widely recognized as a less restrictive alternative to guardianship, allowing people with I/DD to retain all their legal and civil rights. 

New York State has taken the lead, funding a 5-year pilot project to support people with I/DD, passing a progressive SDM law requiring legal recognition of this practice, and funding a $4 million implementation grant to widen availability of SDM.

Learning Objectives

Participants will understand:

1. Supported decision-making, its origins, relevant SDM legislation, and the values that make SDM a compelling alternative to guardianship.

2. The well-developed facilitation process developed by Supported Decision-Making New York (SDMNY) and how social workers can incorporate it in their practice.

3. How SDM for people with I/DD can be expanded to develop and implement supports for older persons experiencing cognitive decline.

Kristin Booth Glen, JD is University Professor (Ret.) and Dean Emerita at CUNY School of Law; Distinguished Human Rights Fellow, Roosevelt House/Hunter College; and Founding Director and Senior Advisor, Supported Decision-Making New York (SDMNY). Judge Glen has been honored for her advocacy in promoting and piloting supported decision-making as a viable alternative to guardianship by Governor Kathy Hochul (Disability Advocate of the Year 2022), The National College of Probate Judges, and the Association for Conflict Resolution of Greater New York. 

Judge Glen was Surrogate for New York County, Justice of the NYS Supreme Court, and the Appellate Term, where she had jurisdiction over guardianships. She has served as Chair of the ABA Commission on Aging and as an expert on aging and disability at the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights in Geneva. 

She has published extensively on supported decision-making and is embarking on a new project to explore the supports that will allow older persons with cognitive disabilities to make their own decisions and live with autonomy and dignity for as long as they can. Judge Glen received her JD from Columbia Law School.    

Cornachio, M.S.Ed is Associate Director of Supported Decision-Making New York. She has been engaged as a mentor and a facilitator in the lives of nearly 100 decision-makers as they developed their Supported Decision- Making Agreements. She has been instrumental in trainings for SDMNY facilitators across the state, and co-developed a Supported Decision-Making curriculum for transition-age 消消犯 and 消消犯 in Inclusive Postsecondary Education in NYC. 

Ms. Cornachio was formerly an advocate and private consultant to families of 消消犯 with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism in their local school districts. She holds  advanced certification in Disability Studies and an MS in Education from Syracuse University. She is currently completing Community Dispute Resolution Center Mediation training through the New York Peace Institute.  Ms. Cornachio is the mother of two adult children, including a daughter who proudly identifies as a decision-maker.

PODCAST

Rabbis, chaplains, and social workers are often called on to provide spiritual care near life���s end. Whether in response to serious illness, advanced cognitive or physical decline in old age, or unexpected, tragic violence, health care professionals and clergy need to respond compassionately and effectively with families facing spiritual, emotional, and existential crises. Clips from Wurzweiler School of Social Work���s ���Spirituality Near the End of Life��� Conference in July 2019 include leading clergy, chaplains, and social workers offering their knowledge, skills, and wisdom to assist professionals seeking to better integrate spiritual care into their professional and community work.

Episode 1

Episode 2