Person-Centered Planning for Group Home Residents with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Limited research is available on the effectiveness of person-centered planning on the quality of life of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/D) living in group homes. Our qualitative study sought the perspectives of five group home residents with ID/D, two external consultant coaches, and 14 key personnel in various roles including frontline staff, one manager, administrators, and an affiliated behavior consultant. Interviews, focus groups, resident records, and observation field notes shed light on the impact of person-centered planning on group home residents. Our findings point to an alternative way to respond to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) regulatory requirement to integrate person-centered planning through focusing on the way the intervention meets three needs that facilitate the Individual Program Plan and support the purposes of the CMS Home and Community-Based Services Settings Rule. Implications for policy, practice, and research are discussed.