Supported Decision-Making
By Linda VanWormer, Services to Enhance Potential
In An Introduction to Supported Decision-Making, Martinis (2023a) states, “every day, parents of people with disabilities across Michigan are told by friends, family members, and professionals that they must get guardianship over their children. And, every day, parents follow this advice and spend time and money on lawyers, doctors, and court hearings because they think guardianship is their only option. Sometimes it is. A lot of times it isn’t.”
Supported Decision-Making (SDM) is a way for adults with disabilities to make their own decisions with the help of trusted friends or family members. It is used and recognized as an alternative to Guardianship across the United States.
What would you do if you were told you had no rights? If suddenly someone else was given the right to choose for you where and how you live your life?
My name is Linda VanWormer and I became the first Michigander to be authorized by a court to use Supported Decision-Making instead of being put in guardianship.
I am a lifelong resident of Michigan. I have intellectual and other disabilities. After I escaped an abusive relationship, my sister Amy Peckinpaugh helped me put my life back together. Because I had difficulty arranging my life, my sister became my partial guardian. This was done to protect me in staying out of the abusive relationship and promote my recovery.
My sister worked with me to increase decision making experiences and help me learn how to direct my own life. After 10 years in partial guardianship, my sister and I realized that I had been using decision-making with help of family, friends, and professionals who I trust. I found out this is called Supported Decision-Making (SDM).
We decided that I did not need a guardian anymore. My sister, Amy, told the Court that I no longer needed a partial guardian. I had a network of people I worked with – friends, family members, and professionals – who were dedicated to helping me use SDM to understand, make, and communicate my own decisions about my life, like where to live, what to do, who to spend time with, and how to budget and spend my money.
However, due to a paperwork error, my case wound up back before the Court, where the judge was skeptical that I could make my own decisions. My court appointed attorney also expressed doubts. My sister and I then worked with Annette Downey of Community Living Services, Inc. to hire Jonathan Martinis, a national expert in SDM, to help show the Court that I do not need a guardian. Mr. Martinis interviewed me, my sister, several others in my life and gave a report (My Report from Jonathan Martinis) to my attorney and the Court. After reading the report, my attorney supported my request to use SDM instead of a guardianship (Martinis, 2023b).
The Court ruled that I do not need a guardian “based on [my] ability to use SDM to make decisions about my life, and the support and care I receive from my family and caregivers.” With those words, I became the first Michigander to be authorized by a court to use Supported Decision-Making instead of being put in guardianship.
Today, I have my rights back. Now, I call the shots! I make decisions.
Here’s a link to my story that aired on Friday, March 17, 2023: Local woman makes history in guardianship case, advocates for different option (wxyz.com)
Here is an excerpt from the 6-page legal opinion by Wayne County Probate Court issued in March 2023.
“Based on Linda’s ability to use SDM to make decisions about her life, and the support and care she receives from her family and caregivers, Linda possesses the capacity to care for herself and her estate.
CONCLUSION
Petitioner’s request for guardianship is DENIED.
The National Guardianship Association (NGA) has a Position Statement on Guardianship, Surrogate Decision Making, and Supported Decision-Making. NGA states supported decision- making should be considered for the person before guardianship, and the supported decision-making process should be incorporated as a part of the guardianship if guardianship is necessary. Link to the NGA position statement is here: SDM-Position-Statement-9-20-17.pdf (nvpep.org)
There are 23 states in the United States, plus the District of Columbia (D.C.), that have passed laws about Supported Decision-Making (SDM). My sister and I are looking to get legislation in Michigan and become the 24th state to have a Supported Decision-Making statute!