Supporting people with disabilities in managing individual budgets: the role of support brokers.

Purpose: Nationwide people with disabilities are self-directing their long-term care supports through individual budgets. Because these individuals may rely on a "support broker" to assist them in making and executing decisions regarding their budgets, the interactions between the participant and the support broker can influence participant autonomy.

Primary Practice Setting: Massachusetts piloted a program for 14 participants to receive individual budgets for home and community-based services. Central to this pilot were the participant-designated support brokers, including home care case managers and peer advocates.

Findings/conclusions: Analysis of data on participants and support brokers indicated that the support brokers struggled with when, how, and how much to assist participants to self-direct.

Implications For Case Management Practice: Case managers or other providers assuming the support broker's role will need proper training if they are to respond skillfully to challenging situations self-direction may bring.