Person-Centered Planning is a wonderful opportunity for your EnGaged Services Independent Facilitator (IF) to get to know the participant better. We learn all about the participant's short & long-term goals, hopes & dreams for the future, likes & dislikes, areas of improvement, their circle of support, and so much more! All of this information is gathered so your IF has a great understanding of how best to guide you through SDP, advocate for you, and help you make informed decisions on which services, providers, and supports might benefit you most. Your IF will take all of this information and turn it into a Person-Centered Plan, or PCP, which you can keep and share with your Service Coordinator, providers, teachers, or other important people in your life, if you so choose.  

Start thinking about who you want to invite, where you'd like the meeting to be held, and what time and date works best for your schedule. The PCP meeting usually takes about 2 hours, and the participant only needs to be present for part of the meeting if it becomes overwhelming or boring for them. You may also want to begin compiling important highlights about your life starting from birth, like medical procedures, fun vacations, supports accessed in school, or other events that helped shape you into who you are today. If you want your IF to include any pictures of you, feel free to start picking out some favorites to share too!

Our IFs will also help you prepare for the meeting questions once it is scheduled. This is usually either by sending you a document or a fill-able google form with the questions and topics we intend to go over during the meeting. 

Who do you want to have at your meeting? 

Your meeting should have people that you trust and who can help you think of and implement ideas to meet your goals. Consider inviting your family, friends, your service coordinator, your teachers/program specialists, etc. 

When and where do you want the meeting to happen? 

Make sure it’s a time and place where you feel comfortable, and don’t worry too much about what is convenient for others. This is all about you!

What do you want the space to look and feel like when we meet? 

Should we have food available? Do you want to have your pets, toys, other things there with us? Should we decorate? Do you want background music? 

Following your PCP meeting, your Independent Facilitator will send the completed PCP document to you so you can review it and suggest any edits or additions. Once you're happy with it, we'll send it to your Regional Center Service Coordinator for them review.