Circles of Support: Monroe County, New York
Program in Brief:
Circles of Support operates in two Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) districts of Rochester, New York, in a combination suburban and rural area. Each student that participates in the Circles of Support project has at least one meeting that follows the Person Centered models such as Essential Life Style Planning, Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope (PATH), McGill Action Planning System (MAPS) and includes a wide range of participants. The program also trains and supports staff in school and adult agencies in the process of person centered transition planning
Populations Served:
Students ages 12-21 served by the Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) districts on the east and west sides of Rochester, New York participate in this program that promotes self-determination. The students experience developmental disabilities and multiple disabilities, including moderate and severe mental retardation, autism, Aspergers syndrome, speech and language impairment, orthopedic impairment, dual diagnoses, and traumatic brain injury. Students’ families also participate in the program.
Exemplar Approaches to Promoting Self-Determination:
Students and their families use person-centered-planning during meetings to develop their transition plans. Students address the Who Am I question through a self identifying history process. This process, which is conducted in a place chosen by the family, begins by having the student’s circle focus on the aspiration and dreaming to identify each student’s dreams, barriers, goals, and action steps to meet those goals. Individuals invited by the student and family, including friends, family, agency representatives, and school personnel attend meetings. A Parent Partner, who is the parent of a child with a disability and is employed by each BOCES, helps students and families identify and access resources to achieve their goals. There is also a transition specialist or transition coordinator employed with each BOCES who facilitates the planning and resource linking process.
Job try-outs are arranged based on student interests and goals by Parent Partners and can last from one to four weeks. Pictures are taken to track each job tried, so that the team can best discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each site with the student as they make plans for employment. Reflection on career exploration activities occurs using digital technology and career portfolio presentations.
Circles of Support coordinates well with other local agencies and functions within a web of agencies with strong self-determination-promoting philosophies. Collaboration with community agencies for student and family training and career exploration is central. The Advocacy Center, a local nonprofit agency offers a four-week self-determination training for transitioning students and parents. Adults with disabilities who are members of a local AmeriCorps group help provide the training. The local Developmental Disabilities Service Organization (DDSO) emphasizes consumer choice in the selection of service coordinators as well. Circles of Support provides a Family Training Series curriculum and continues to creatively approach the process of planning and developing opportunities for students and families, based on their interests and requests.
Community-based instruction utilizing a transition collaborative forum (schools/agencies) is used as a vehicle to implement person centered experiences for students, families and staff.
Karvonen, M., Test, D. W., Wood, W. M., Browder, D., & Algozzine, B. (in press) Putting self-determination into practice.
Contact Information:
Therese Zona, project director, therese_zona@boces.monroe.edu
Monroe #1 BOCES 41
O’Connor Road Fairport, NY 14450