Statement of Principles: Making Care Coordination Work for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities
The North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities (NCCDD) believes that care coordination is an essential function in the delivery and receipt of Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS). As North Carolina implements its Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) (1915 (b)(c)) Innovations Waiver statewide, individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families must have access to care coordination services that are individually focused and participant-directed. Care coordination services should adhere to the principles that individuals and families have:
- The opportunity to communicate needs and have those be heard and honored;
- Control the way services and supports are delivered and who provides these;
- Flexible services that can change over time, with recognition that there are many approaches to achieving individual goals; and
- An advocate that promotes a spirit of personal reliance and contribution, mutual support, and community connection.
Care coordination services for the individual should be proactive and personal, and care coordinators should be involved, engaged, and responsive to individual needs. Leaders within the LTSS should provide administrative structures (e.g., compensation, caseload) allowing care coordinators to more effectively deliver services to individuals with I/DD in accordance with these principles.
In order to be effective, care coordinators should have the training and competencies to support the outcomes and values that matter to individuals with I/DD and family members. Care coordinators must implement strategies that empower the individual and/or family to direct their services and supports according to their life goals.
The NCCDD believes that care coordination should be an open and interactive process with ongoing communication between individuals with I/DD, family members and guardians, the Community Guide, care coordinators and providers. These conversations are essential to the coordination of lifelong services and supports that enhance quality of life.
Adopted: May 2012