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A New Federal Rule Will Come Into Effect Impacting How People With Disabilities Receive Services

two people in a meeting at a table
Photo by Nik MacMillan on Unsplash

Families of people with disabilities probably already know that changes are coming to the way their services are provided. And one of the big drivers of that change is the Settings Rule.

“There’s actually quite a large section on person-centered planning within the settings rule," said Aubrey Snyder of the Utah Employment Integration Training and Technical Assistance Center in Salt Lake City. "The settings rule is really just reinvigorating that philosophy and bringing it more into, rather than something that should be done into something that needs to be done.”

Person-centered planning is not a new concept, but it’s being emphasized more for service providers of people with disabilities.

“A person centered planning meeting right now might consist of a few broad goals throughout the year that we need to working on," Snyder said, "such as, 'I want to be working towards getting a job,' 'I want to be working towards living on my own,' 'we need to work on transportation.' Or it can also focus on one issue at a time. Really it’s just individualized to each person.

“But really it is up to the individual whose plan it is, who is at the table. So they can invite their boyfriend or girlfriend if they’d like to. They could invite their coworker, they could invite their church leader. Anyone is welcome to come that the person sees fit in coming to that planning meeting.”

The Utah Parent Center has compiled resources for people with disabilities and their families who will enter into person-centered planning.  In addition, the Utah employment and community integration center offers a free webinar with information for families on the settings rule.