Decision Making Supports
& Guardianship
Ohio Network for Innovation's Decision Making Support Team wants to help you get support to understand your choices and how your decision(s) might impact your life, or get help to communicate your decisions to others.
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Our team understands that this might look different for you based on your current situation, or you could still be learning about what assistance you would like. We meet you where you are at and are happy to offer multiple types of support to fit your situation, without the waiting.
Informal Supports
ONI's Decision Making Support Team understands the importance of making your own decisions. Our team is set to help you make your own choices, no matter what they may be.
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Examples:
Supported Decision Making for finances, legal matters, work, and/or everyday life.
Formal Supports
Sometimes you may want someone you trust to make some of your decisions for you. You can decide who this person is and what kinds of decisions they make for you.
Examples:
Chosen Representative
Power of Attorney
Conservatorship
*All formal supports include informal supports as well.
Guardianship
Whether it’s an emergency, immediate, short-term, or future need that can be planned for, our unique approach to guardianship eliminates waiting lists, allows for collaboration with community partners, and offers reliable and person-centered solutions.
*All guardianships include informal supports as well.
ONI uses a variety of resources and tools to guide our Decision Making team at all levels of support. These resources help guide conversations and facilitate Supportive Decision Making. You can preview some of these tools here
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Where can I sign up for DODD Medication Administration Classes?Virtual recertification classes can be found at ONI.eventbrite.com. If you are in need of Initial Certification classes, in-person classes or have other needs, email ONINursing@ohionetworkforinnovation.com or call 740-507-5384.
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What other trainings do you offer?ONI provides various trainings, including QA Readiness, DODD Stand-Alone Trainings (VNS, Epi-Pen, OTC Topicals), and customizable sessions. Let us know your needs for tailored support. Be sure to explore ONI’s non-nursing trainings and other services we offer.
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How do I know if I need delegation or Medication Administration Certification?Requirements can be found here. If you are still unsure, reach out to ONINursing@ohionetworkforinnovation.com or call 740-507-5384.
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Do you provide nursing delegation?Yes, ONI currently provides some nursing delegation services in Ohio DODD settings. However, our ability to take on new cases depends on our current capacity. If we are unable to assist you directly, we are committed to supporting you by providing nursing delegation training and ongoing supports if you choose to hire another nurse. Our goal is to ensure that individuals receive the necessary care and support. Please reach out to discuss your specific needs. We will do our best to assist you or provide the necessary training, resources and support for your specific needs.
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Can you assist an agency with preparing for a DODD Nursing Quality Assessment Review or Compliance Review?Absolutely, ONI can provide valuable assistance in preparing for DODD Nursing Quality Assessment Reviews (QAs) and the medication portion of Provider Compliance Reviews. We offer services such as mock reviews specifically tailored to meet the requirements of QAs and compliance standards, especially those related to medication administration. Reach out to discuss your specific needs.
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What is Delegated Nursing?Delegated Nursing is a service under Ohio law which allows a caregiver to complete tasks that would otherwise be handled by a nurse. A delegating nurse must authorize and oversee each client's task to the caregiver. Nurse delegation generally occurs in settings where certified caregivers perform daily care-related tasks for individuals. These settings could include a person's home and/or settings they attend in the community.
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What service do I need?The kind of help each of us needs to make decisions can look very different. We may need more or less support depending on the kinds of decisions we are faced with. ONI can help you learn about your support options and figure out what will work best for you. Reach out to us at referrals@ohionetworkforinnovation.com so we can get started.
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What makes ONI's services different?
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How much do Informal Supports, Formal Supports, and Guardianship services cost?To discuss our current prices for partners and non-partners, contact us at (740) 485-5869.
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How do I pay for these services?Reach out to us at referrals@ohionetworkforinnovation.com to inquire further.
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What is Supported Decision-Making?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.
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What does Supported Decision-Making look like?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
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How are Informal Supports different from Formal Supports and Guardianship?There's a continuum of decision-making supports from less- to more-restrictive. Informal Supports, like role-playing, making pros and cons lists, and getting advice from experts are on the least-restrictive end of that continuum. You still make the final decision! Formal 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. 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. Guardianship is on the more-restrictive end of the continuum.
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How can I learn more about Supported Decision-Making?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
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What other less restrictive options are there?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
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How are Formal Supports different from Informal Supports and Guardianship?There's a continuum of decision-making supports from less- to more-restrictive. Informal Supports, like role-playing, making pros and cons lists, and getting advice from experts are on the least-restrictive end of that continuum. You still make the final decision! Formal 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. 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. Guardianship is on the more-restrictive end of the continuum.
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What do Formal Supports look like?
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What is the on-call/emergency line for?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.
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What happens after you get appointed a Guardian?Once ONI is appointed guardian, you will be assigned a guardian services representative to help address your needs. From there, we will collaborate with you and the people in your life to assess the needs and wants that you have, while also considering safety. ONI's guardian's aim for least-restrictive options when providing consent. Every client's life is unique, and we utilize a person-centered approach to our efforts.
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What is Guardianship?Guardianship is an extreme measure taken to remove the rights of a person to make decisions about his or her own life. Probate Court appoints someone else to make decisions for the person instead. A guardian gets to make decisions about where the person lives, where the person works, whether or not the person gets medical care and where they get it, who the person spends time with, and in some cases when and how the person dies.
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Is guardianship good or bad?Guardianship is neither good or bad. In certain situations, guardianship is helpful and even necessary. Some people do need a substitute decision-maker to act on their behalf if they are unable to make decisions for themselves. Other times, a person might need a guardian to make some decisions for them, but not all of them. The rules and laws about guardianship make very clear that it’s intended to be used as a last resort.
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How is Guardianship different from Informal and Formal Supports?There's a continuum of decision-making supports from less- to more-restrictive. Informal Supports, like role-playing, making pros and cons lists, and getting advice from experts are on the least-restrictive end of that continuum. You still make the final decision! Formal 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. 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. Guardianship is on the more-restrictive end of the continuum.
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What type of guardianship do I need?There are several kinds of guardianship in Ohio that can impact the rights of the person differently. You can learn more about them here. However, even though there are multiple types of guardianship, all may not apply to your situation. Please contact us directly so we can learn more to assist you.