Episode 52. Tennessee Center for Decision-Making Support.

Penny Johnson is the Program Director at the Tennessee Center for Decision-Making Support. This virtual resource center is a collaboration between the Arc Tennessee, Tennessee’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, and Disability Rights Tennessee and its function is to provide decision-making tools and resources. Penny and I chat about:  2:00 What does the program provide? 5:45  What is a conservatorship? 9:30 What are the areas of decision-making ability assessed? [Resource: The LifeCourse Decision-Making Support Tool developed by The Charting the LifeCourse Nexus] This tool determines support needed in the integral domains of daily living including Daily Life and Employment; Health Living; Social and Spirituality; Safety and Security; Community Living; Advocacy & Engagement. The tool is available at https://www.tndecisionmaking.org/  20:00 What is an ABLE account? 22:00 Difference between Power of Attorney and Durable Power of Attorney 23:00 Special Needs Trust 24:00 Healthcare Agent and Medical Directives  Takeaway Gem: Penny suggests looking at the LifeCourse Tool not only when your child transitions at age 14 or at the age of majority(18 years old) but also for the younger kids.  It allows parents to intentionally help their kids build capacity for understanding choices, providing opportunity, and making-communicating decisions. This episode is sponsored by Green Mountain Support Services in Vermont, USA. Transcript