Supported Decision-Making happens when we ask trusted people in our lives to help us make important decisions. All of us already use Supported Decision-Making, even if we don’t refer to it that way. We may ask others for their advice, expertise, and opinions, or for help to understand a complicated situation, help understanding words you don't already know, or for more information about a service you want to purchase. We work with families and individuals from all walks of life to help them make their important decisions and provide guidance wherever they need.

Supported Decision-Making can look different for each person, but it respects a person’s dignity and basic civil rights to make their own choices about their life. The Decision Maker, or the person asking for help to make decisions, will: Choose who will support them with decision-making (family, friends, neighbors, church members, professionals, etc.) Decide what decisions to get help with (e.g., where to live or who would make a good roommate, how to spend large amounts of money, what medication to take or which medical procedures to agree to, etc.) Decide what help from others should look like (pros & cons lists, online research, role-playing, etc.) Make the decision – it’s still the person’s right to make his or her own decision! The Supporters, or the people who help, will: Be willing and able to help in the ways the Decision-Maker is asking Provide the kind of support requested by the Decision-Maker so that person can make his or her own decision

There's a continuum of decision-making supports from less- to more-restrictive, depending on the needs of the individual. No matter what type of supports you are receiving, ONI always takes a person-centered approach and take into consideration the interest and concerns of our clients in every decision we make as guardian. On the least-restrictive end of that continuum are things like role-playing, making pros and cons lists, and getting advice from experts. You still make the final decision! Supports like Chosen Representative and Power of Attorney involve you voluntarily giving someone else the right to make certain decisions for you, but you can still make changes to this agreement later on. On the more restrictive end of the continuum is Guardianship. Guardianship happens when Probate Court appoints someone else to make decisions for you. The guardian should still include you in decision-making, but the Probate Court has the final say about things.

You can contact us, but there are a lot of great resources about Supported Decision-Making out there, too. ​ Here are a few to get started: https://www.ohionetworkforinnovation.com/sdmresources http://supporteddecisionmaking.org/ http://jennyhatchjusticeproject.org/ https://www.aclu.org/other/faqs-about-supported-decision-making https://www.aclu.org/other/supported-decision-making-resource-library?redirect=supported-decision-making-resource-library

We’re glad you asked, because there are a lot of them! Below are just a few examples. It’s really important to consider all less restrictive options before pursuing guardianship. Payee A person appointed to manage someone else’s benefits to meet their financial needs. Trust Fund Often for large amounts of money, it’s a way to protect and manage the person’s financial assets that involves someone else overseeing those assets. Trust funds can be set up in a way that allows a person to remain eligible for benefits. Technology Personal Home Assistants like Alexa, Apps on our phones to help us connect to others, remember important things or keep checklists, or find our way around, Online Videos to help us learn more about something or to learn how to do something. Life Coaching Help from an experienced person to learn, grow, and make progress towards specific goals. HIPAA Release A document that allows other people to know important health information about a person. Protective Order A court order to keep a person safe. Informal Supports Review our page on Informal Supports if you feel like some of these options are still too restrictive

To review how ONI administers it's Guardianship services as well current cost breakdown for those services, please refer to our Guardianship Services Guide.

If you are in an emergency, please dial 911. If you are not in need of emergency consent or need to inform your guardian of a major unusual incident, please contact us and we will get back to you as soon as possible. If you are in need of emergency consent or informing us of a major unusual incident, call our emergency line at 740-224-0111.