Supported Decision-Making Service

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Supported Decision-Making Service for Persons with Disabilities | Service Model
The Human Rights Center for People with Disabilitis
Project vision:
The intent of the ‘Article 12 – Supported Decision Making’ Project is to make certain that all
persons with disabilities can benefit from ‘independence support’ services which will help them
fulfill their independence and autonomy with full legal capacity. Consequently, ‘Article 12’ seeks
to bring about a change in Israeli society and its attitude towards persons with disabilities.
Project goals:
1. Persons with disabilities over the age of 18 will enjoy freedom and independence in making
decisions about their affairs.
2. Development of support services based on the wishes and choices of the person.
3. Public and legal recognition of supported decision making as a preferred alternative to
guardianship.
4. Expansion of the service into an Israeli public service.
5. Change in the attitude of Israeli society to persons with disabilities and recognition of their
right to independence and autonomy.
The pilot project focused on the second element of the goals – the development of a support
service based on the wishes and choices of the person.
Pilot features:
The pilot included 22 participants with a wide variety of disabilities (psychosocial, intellectual,
autism spectrum), some of whom also had physical disabilities. Three participants dropped out
during the project. Eighteen of the participants had a guardian at the beginning of the pilot, while
four of them did not (a guardian was appointed to one of the four later on).
The pilot team consisted of the pilot director – Adv. Yotam Tolub who is in charge of guardianship
at Bizchut, and 11 supporters (two salaried and nine volunteers) who were trained during July and
August 2014, and continued to undergo training during the pilot itself.
The support meetings were held from September 2014 to October average of 30 meetings
were held with each participant. In addition, five family members meetings intended for guardians
of young participants were also held. These meetings addressed issues of independence and the
advancement of supported decision making.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In 2012, Israel ratified the (CRPD). Article
12 of the CRPD calls for moving from a model of substitute decision making to one of supported
decision making. Supported decision making can be defined as a process in which adults who
need help in making decisions, receive the support they want and need in order to understand the
situations they face and the possibilities and courses of action available to them. Through this
support, they are able to make the decisions affecting their lives and avoid the need for a guardian.
The ‘Article 12 – Supported Decision Making’ Project was established with the intent to restore
people’s control over their own lives through an effort to develop a model for supported decision
making and conduct a pilot to examine the efficacy of the model by providing support in practice.