Dear Families,
 
The system of services and supports for Rhode Island adults who have intellectual and developmental disabilities is in transformation.  The new system needs to be built on the concept that the person is the beginning and the end of every conversation and must be the primary focus of every conversation and every form.  This is called person-centered thinking.  Many of you have been involved with this idea for a long time.  Some of you have participated in meetings about person-centeredness during the past few years.  It is now time for Rhode Island to take the next steps towards implementing a truly person-centered system.  Implementing a true person-centered system is a step towards the conflict-free case management system.
 
To help us design those next steps, the Division of Developmental Disabilities is partnering with the Conversion Institute at the Sherlock Center to hold a series of public forums about person-centeredness.  The purpose of these forums is to share with you some information and descriptions of how other organizations have implemented person-centered thinking and to solicit your thoughts and your input into how it could be implemented in Rhode Island.  The forums listed below are intended for families.  These will be family-to-family discussions and will be facilitated by family members.