Family Managed Supports
Family Managed Services (FMS) is a funding option that enables families* to hire and direct their own staff to support a family member with intellectual disabilities to live a full life in community. The Alberta government’s Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) program provides this funding for people with developmental disabilities. This guide shares some of the knowledge experienced families have gained from their use of FMS to support rich, meaningful lives.
The point of FMS is to support individuals to live a good life by having friends and close relationships, living in their own home, having a job and a career, being a life-long learner, enjoying recreational and leisure activities, expressing creativity and participating in community life.
*What is 'family'?
Our definition of family is not limited to the traditional definition of a nuclear family (parents, children, etc.) but can consist of two or more people, living together or apart, related by blood, marriage, adoption or by a commitment to love and support one another.
Three things make FMS work:
- Visioning and planning: identifying what makes for a rich and meaningful life and pursuing the pathways in community life that offer the best chances of living that life.
- Organizing the support a person needs to realize their vision by orchestrating the person’s abilities, the support of family and friends, the resources available to everyone in the community, effective technology, FMS-funded supports, and other beneficial and necessary health and human services.
- Managing FMS by fulfilling employer responsibilities and PDD requirements.
By navigating through the menus on the left you will find information about FMS, advice from families and more information on how you may utilize this funding and approach for your family.
This guide will help lead families like yours through the three stages of getting the best from FMS:
- Visioning & Planning by identifying the community pathways and roles that offer the best opportunities for a meaningful and inclusive life.
- Organizing support to enable success along these chosen pathways. These two stages are continually updated and form the foundation for managing FMS.
- Managing FMS as a source of funding for staff. Explanations go in straight lines and one, two, three order, but that is not reality. Life as lived is much messier. So families will move back and forth through the steps, trying and altering different ways to seek opportunities and provide support, encountering new ideas, meeting new allies and dealing with difficulties as they come up. Whatever way a family may go about creating a good life, it’s important to keep renewing and expanding the vision.
