Self-Determination & Individualized Funding Discussion Group – Acceptable Use Policy

This discussion group focuses on new approaches for allocating public money and providing planning assistance which will (or could) enable people with disabilities to exercise greater self-determination in order to obtain the community services and supports they require to participate as full citizens, without losing control of their lives.

Discussions cover a variety of topics, including:

·   different fiscal mechanisms such as individualized funding and direct payments, and their advantages and limitations;

·   various forms of technical planning support, such as independent service/support brokerage, which people sometimes require in order to identify and meet their community living needs, including managing their supports;

·   the roles and rightful powers of the various actors in a demand driven system, including people with disabilities, family members and advocates, government and state agencies, service providers, professionals, brokers and other advisers;

·   identifying the appropriate balance between the freedom of the individual who requires support to achieve his/her own desired future, and the duty of the State to ensure that public funds are used properly.

·   strategies that will lead to the broader acceptance and implementation of these alternative approaches for allocating financial and planning resources;

·   the ways in which these new funding and personal planning systems may be obstructed or perverted by vested interests, and strategies for avoiding or countering such problems.

By the nature of these topics, much of the discussion is fairly technical and abstract. However, the dialogue is generally kept "on the ground" by contributors who can speak from their experience of being on the receiving end of individualized funding arrangements, or working to develop real alternatives to global/block funding and case management or service coordination.

Please note that although contributions to the list frequently refer to issues such as inclusion, self-determination and self-advocacy, and may include discussion about the meaning of these concepts, this forum is not intended to be a place for discussion about their validity for people who have disabilities. While the shift of power to the people who need financial support from the State certainly presents many practical difficulties, on this list, SUPPORT FOR THE PRINCIPLE OF TRANSFERRING POWER IS TAKEN AS A GIVEN.

Specific Ground Rules:

1. Messages should be courteous and constructive. 
   
2. Participants are encouraged to converse without the use of excessive jargon.
   
3. Subscribers are invited to encourage people who use support services, and their families and advocates, to join the list, as their views and experiences are vital in helping to ensure that discussions stay rooted in the rights and requirements of people with disabilities. 
   
4. This is not a place to challenge or debate the values underlying community living. If you want to defend institutions, congregate settings, or segregation, please go elsewhere.
   
5. Treat communications on this group as you would private conversations.  Do not forward or reproduce a posted message without the author's explicit approval.
   
6. Commercial announcements are not allowed. However, if you are a frequent participant in group discussions, feel free to announce upcoming workshops or informational materials that you think others on the group might find useful.
   
7. Please remember that most participants receive more e-mail than we can possibility deal with effectively. Avoid irrelevant messages, and consider whether replies might be better sent to one person rather than the whole list. Also, please make sure that your own postings do not contain copies of previous postings.
   
8. Violators of the group’s acceptable use policy will be removed from the mailing list.

 (These ground rules have been adapted from those written by Judith Snow for another list.)

The discussion group is owned and moderated by Brian Salisbury and Steve Dowson.  To join, please send an email to directfunding-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

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