As persons with disabilities have begun to claim their proper place as full citizens in society, they have often found that funding systems for support services are either inadequate or inconsistent with citizenship - not giving them control over their lives. In fact, although the right to receive assistance is undeniably accepted, disabled persons are still forced to passively accept the services and support that are created with a top down approach, therefore excluding them from the process of selection and use of the services that best suit them. In addition, services and systems of managing services are increasingly digital. At the same time persons with disabilities – especially persons with intellectual or learning disabilities - receive none or only little support or education on how to manage their services and use ICT-based systems. Often family members and front-line staff are the key people supporting persons with disabilities in their everyday lives. Yet they don´t have enough skills and competences to support persons managing their services or using ICT. This project will look specifically at the different needs required to develop good Self Directed Support systems, in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and feasible in the day to day practice of professionals and individuals that will use the service. The following results will be produced: - Accessible Training & Toolkit on Self-Directed Support - Training & Toolkit for Front-line staff working in the disability services - Training & Toolkit for Staff working in the field of (formal or informal) Adult Education - Strategic planning and lobbying toolkit - Report: Self-Directed Support in Europe This projects will help to understand how SDS systems could work and what role different actors in these systems should use. At national level the project will help identifying the gaps and will help fill them him by clarifying the needs of different actors and providing resources. At European level the project will provide a major understanding of SDS systems and the project will shed light on the needed steps to take on in the future debates around SDS. All results will be made available on the SKILLS digital platform and will be freely available to all.
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