Adult Decision-making Roadmap Project

Adults who are struggling to make decisions about their physical health and safety should have a range of decision-making options to assist them – a continuum from least structured to most structured. Of the most structured is a determination by the court that the adult is legally incapacitated and a guardian needs to be appointed to make important decisions for them.

Because establishing a guardianship may remove considerable rights from an individual, it should only be considered after less restrictive alternatives have proven ineffective or are unavailable. Wherever they fall on the continuum these individuals along with their families, friends and loved ones have a complex set of issues that requires a multifaceted response from the health, social service, and legal fields.

Throughout the years, the state has scattered a rich, but largely unconnected, array of services across the community landscape. This disparate collection needs to be integrated into a well-run plan for Oregonians – urban and rural – to follow.

The time has come to document the state’s existing resources, take stock of what already exists, and develop “concept map” to set strategic priorities to advance justice for adults in need of help (“Roadmap Project”).

Concept mapping is a structured process of gathering ideas, views, and information from a wide group of those affected by this problem (i.e. communities, government agencies, advocacy groups, health and social service organizations, law enforcement, etc.) and creating a diagram (or concept map) to illustrate what we have, what we need, and what we need to do to get what we need. In this context, the Roadmap Project will:

·  convene and work with subject matter experts who can provide guidance throughout the project;

·  seek views from hundreds of stakeholders to develop the roadmap;

·  explore key topics in greater depth with groups of experts;

·  seek strategic guidance from thought-leaders in the adult care and related fields;

·  identify relevant resources to inform and supplement the project;

·  seek guidance from experts to identify “first wave” priorities and develop action plans to implement them;

·  identify additional priorities;

·  identify universal themes;

·  draft preliminary and final documents summarizing the process, findings, and recommendations elicited in this project;

·  advocate for the recommendations produced and the Roadmap Project, in general; and

·  assign tasks to stakeholders to tackle and implement the recommendations.

The Roadmap Project is a groundbreaking partnership – among those who work primarily in the field of adult care and critical allies in related fields – to apply a wider lens to the challenges older Oregonians face in drafting this first state strategic plan for these individuals. Members of the partnership include: [insert partners here, i.e. Oregon Judicial Department, AARP Oregon and Elders in Action]

The partners estimate the Roadmap Project will cost $100,000.00 and are seeking funding from your non-profit organization to support this effort.