At the heart of the Self-Determination Program is a simple but powerful idea: services should be built around the person, not the other way around. That idea comes to life through person-centered planning — and, for many participants, with the help of an independent facilitator.
Person-centered planning (PCP) is a process for figuring out what a good life looks like for you, and what supports will help you get there. Rather than starting with a list of available services, it starts with you: your strengths, your preferences, your relationships, and your goals.
A person-centered plan typically captures two kinds of things:
Both matter, and they can pull against each other. A plan that only addresses what's important for you produces a safe life that nobody would want to live. A plan that ignores it entirely isn't sustainable. Good planning holds the tension honestly.
In the Self-Determination Program, your person-centered plan does real work. It informs the individual budget discussion with your regional center, and it shapes the spending plan that lists the services you'll actually buy.
A strong plan turns "what services exist?" into "what life do I want, and what will help me live it?"
Practically: if something matters to you but never makes it into your plan, it's much harder to fund it later. The planning conversation is where your priorities become budget lines. Take it seriously, and don't let anyone rush you through it.
An independent facilitator (IF) is someone you can choose to help you navigate self-determination and the person-centered planning process. Independent facilitators are trained in the principles of self-determination, and can help you:
Using an independent facilitator is optional. Some participants lead the process themselves or with family; others find an IF's experience invaluable, especially the first time through. The choice is yours.
For the transition into the SDP, the cost of an independent facilitator is paid by the regional center. If you choose to continue working with an IF (or switch to a different one) after that transition, those fees typically come out of your individual budget — so it's worth being deliberate about how much IF support you want, and budgeting for it in your spending plan.
This trips people up, so it's worth being explicit. Your independent facilitator helps you plan. Your Financial Management Service handles the money. They are different roles, held by different people, on purpose.
That separation protects you. The person helping you decide what to buy shouldn't also be the person paying for it and reporting on it — that's how conflicts of interest creep in. Keeping them apart means you get independent advice on one side and independent accounting on the other.
Person-centered planning gives your program its direction. An independent facilitator, if you choose one, helps you walk the path with confidence. And once your plan and budget are set and services are underway, a Financial Management Service keeps the financial machinery running in the background.
That's where TrueCare FMS fits in. We support the plan you built: your providers invoice us, we check the invoices against your approved spending plan, we pay them, and we keep the records — so the plan you worked hard on actually gets carried out. We don't tell you what to want. That part is yours.
Take the stress out of managing your services. You choose your providers; we handle the bills, the budget, and the paperwork—so you can focus on what matters most.
