Supported Decision-Making Service

35 / 80

35
Supported Decision-Making Service for Persons with Disabilities | Service Model
The Human Rights Center for People with Disabilitis
b. Supporter training and practicum: Maya Goldman, of Beit Issie Shapiro, and Yotam Tolub,
of Bizcchut, the pilot director, designed and delivered the training and practicum program.
Training included eight sessions with four 45-minute units each. The practicum consisted of
20 sessions of 3 45-minute units each. Individual counseling sessions were provided to the
supporters throughout the year. The training and practicum program is detailed in .
c. Partner recruitment: For the sake of efficiency, the pilot was restricted to one geographic
area, Jerusalem. In order to do so, a partnership was created with the Jerusalem Municipality
Welfare Department, which included a department representative on the advisory committee,
and a presentation of the pilot to the four rehabilitation offices in the city, in order to help
identify potential participants.
d. Establishment of advisory committee: The advisory committee supported the project from
beginning to end, discussing the dilemmas that came up during implementation. The committee
included representatives from the government and civil society with clear personal or professional
expertise in the field. The committee convened seven times over the course of 14 months.
e. Assessment study design and implementation: The pilot was conducted in conjunction with
an assessment study by Tal Kahana and Dr. Shira Yalon-Haimovitz. The study was based on
quantitative interviews with pilot participants, supporters, family members and guardians. A
summary of the assessment study findings is presented in , and the full study is
available in Hebrew on the Bizchut website: (Hebrew).
f. Participant recruitment: Four criteria were put in place for participation in the pilot. 1)
Participants must be over 18; 2) They are already or soon to be under guardianship; 3) They
must reside in Jerusalem or its vicinity; 4) They must be motivated to receive support in order to
advance their independence in decision making. Note that the reason for choosing persons already
or soon to be under guardianship was the need to test the supported decision making model as an
alternative to guardianship for people who would have unquestionably been appointed a guardian
today. To increase the chances of success, and for legal reasons, another condition for participation
was the consent of the participant’s guardian, which meant that the guardians participating in the
project were open to the notion of supported decision making from the outset.
g. Recruitment included four stages:
1. Introductorymeetings with the person and the people in their circles (family members,
professionals).
2. Opening interviews: once a person decided to participate in the pilot, an hour-long
opening interview was conducted.
3. Matching supporters to participants: Each person was offered a specific supporter, after
an evaluation of the most suitable match. After an introductory meeting between the
person, the supporter and a Bizchut staff member, the person was given the opportunity
to ask for a different supporter. No one availed themselves of this opportunity.
4. Beginning of support.
The participant recruitment stage lasted several months and carried into the beginning of the
pilot. The last participant joined the pilot in January of 2015. A total of 22 participants were
recruited and began the pilot. Over the course of the year, three participants withdrew from the
pilot as they did not wish to continue. The following is a breakdown of pilot participants: