2018/2019 State Grantee: Able South Carolina (www.able-sc.org)
Summary: The foundation for South Carolina’s state project is the SC Supported Decision-Making Project (SCSDMP), a SC Developmental Disabilities Council-funded, 3-year grant built on a partnership between Able South Carolina, Protection & Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Family Connection of SC, and The Arc of South Carolina. One of the project’s key findings is that there is a pervasive need for professionals and families to better understand decision making supports in an objective, constructive, and strengths-based fashion. In this NRC-SDM state project, Able SC partnered with two school districts to create, pilot, and gather feedback for a tool for Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams that serves two key functions: (1) It acts as an objective assessment of decision making support needs with an emphasis on the input of the student; (2) It features content that highlights steps that teams can take towards constructively addressing identified needs through skill building.