Challenges in sustaining person-centered planning to accomplish organizational change

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the variables associated with the sustainability of Person Centered Planning over time by Support Coordinators working in an agency that provided services to individuals with developmental disabilities. Identifying these factors that positively or negatively affect the implementation and longterm sustainability of Person Centered Planning was an important outcome of the current study. The study was designed to investigate the following areas: (a) the current level of use of Person Centered Planning by Support Coordinators in the agency; (b) the variables associated with the degree to which Person Centered Planning has been sustained; (c) strategies for ensuring sustainability of Person Centered Planning; and (d) the agency's demonstration that its values are consonant with the philosophy and goals of Person Centered Planning. The research in this study was qualitative in nature, utilizing questionnaires, interviews and document reviews. Fourteen Support coordinators and five administrators employed by the agency comprised the population in the present study. Support coordinators who participated in this study were asked to complete a questionnaire related to specific demographics, as well as a questionnaire that illustrated the individual's perception of his/her use of Person Centered Planning. Both the administrators and the support coordinators were interviewed. The interviews were semistructured, guided by a set of questions, which provided consistent parameters around the areas for discussion. The review of documents included a portion of the Individual Service Plans completed during the years 2000--2001, and a review of the agency's mission statement and other planning documents. From the review of the ISP, a paucity of documentation exists from which to corroborate the numbers of support coordinators that self-reported they are either using Person Centered Planning or completing ISPs, which are person-centered. The results of the study provided evidence that Person Centered Planning has not been sustained as an overall organizational change within the agency under study.