Tennessee’s NEW Center for Decision-Making Support
SUMMARY
Tennessee is the first state in the nation to offer one place to learn about decision-making options for people with disabilities. This new resource is called the Tennessee Center for Decision-Making Support. Families, educators, and support professionals can find information about decision-making options, like supported decision-making and power of attorney. There are also tools, resources, and stories of Tennesseans navigating their own decision-making. Visit the Tennessee’s Center for Decision-Making Support at TNDecisionMaking.org or call the hotline at 1-800-835-7077.
TENNESSEE’S CENTER FOR DECISION-MAKING SUPPORT
People with disabilities are diverse and valuable members of their communities who have different wants and needs. They deserve to live full lives, learning, working, and playing in the ways they choose, to the fullest extent of their capacity. Like everyone, there are times people with disabilities need support with making decisions. These choices could be about where to live, where to work, how to spend their time during the day, how to spend money, or other things. Everyone is different. The way one person gets support might be right for them but wrong for someone else.
Tennessee has a NEW virtual resource to help families, educators, and support professionals with decision-making support and future planning called the Tennessee Center for Decision-Making Support. A joint effort of The Arc Tennessee, the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities, and Disability Rights Tennessee (DRT), the Center is designed to make it easy to find information and tools for decision-making and future planning.
The Center offers decision-making options and supports for people with disabilities as they transition through life stages. It has resources for learning about and using decision-making supports like supported decision-making, conservatorship, powers of attorney, special needs trusts, ABLE Accounts, and more, all in one location. Resources include:
- A Decision-Making Supports Resource Directory
- The LifeCourse Tool for exploring Decision-Making Support options
- Best practice tools for using Supported Decision-Making
- A hotline to speak with trained staff who can answer questions, provide limited one-on-one decision-making assistance, and provide referrals to legal assistance.
- Connection to legal counsel regarding decision-making options.
DRT is proud to be a part of this project. As Tennessee’s Protection & Advocacy agency, DRT provides advocacy and legal assistance to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities. As legal partners with the Tennessee Center for Decision-Making Support, DRT has designated staff to provide legal counsel regarding decision-making options. You can reach the Center’s legal team at Disability Rights Tennessee at (800) 342-1660 or email at CamronH@disabilityrightstn.org.
You can visit Tennessee’s Center for Decision-Making Support at TNDecisionMaking.org to explore all our resources. For more information regarding the Tennessee Center for Decision-Making Support you can contact Penny Johnson, the Program Coordinator, at (615) 248-5878, ext. 322 or email at pjohnson@thearctn.org.
Flyer about the TN Center for Decision-Making Support
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This project was supported, in part, by grant number 2101TNSCDD, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.