Adult and Supportive Person Care Planning Tool Kit

Adults 18 years and older can use this tool kit to make a Personal Care Plan with the help of a trusted supportive person. The tool kit is designed for adults with a range of decision-making abilities and communication skills including-

• Adults who are able to make some or all health care and personal decisions
• Adults who can indicate their personal preferences using pictures, icons and emojis
• Adults that are subject to a guardianship or who are under guardianship

Adults living with a medical condition, such as dementia, mental health challenges, an intellectual or developmental disability or autism, where a supportive person can be helpful in safeguarding the adult's rights to make informed choices to get the best possible care.

A supportive person can be anyone the adult chooses- a family member, a friend, a caregiver or a care professional. The adult and supportive person work together to make a Personal Care Plan. The care plan tells doctors, care teams and other important people the kind of care and services the adult wants today and over their lifetime.

A supportive person can support the adult's decision-making skills and abilities to get the best possible care and services the adult wants and needs. For example, the supportive person can-

• Give health care and other important information in ways the adult can understand in order to make care choices;
• Help fill-in a Personal Care Plan using words and pictures to tell others the adult's choices for medical care and services;
• Talk with the adult's doctors and care teams to get good care and needed services that honors care choices and personal preferences.

This tool kit includes an easy to use 3-Step Guide to make a plan, and a fill-in Personal Care Plan planning document. You can also download free multilingual documents and tools from the Resources page of the Honoring Choices website. 

The 3-Step Guide helps the adult and supportive person make a care plan. for the best possible care. Each step includes a simple checklist to suggest ways a supportive person can help the adult. You can add your own ideas and make changes anytime. Here are the three steps:  

• Step 1. Get health care information to make care choices.
  • A supportive person can give the adult information in ways you the adult can understand in order to make choices for medical care and services. The supportive person can also tell care providers what is most important to the adult.
• Step 2. Write down and show the adult's care choices in the Personal Care Plan and other Massachusetts planning documents.
  • A supportive person can help you fill-in a Personal Care Plan to tell others your likes and dislikes and how you want to be cared for and explore other planning documents now and over your lifetime. You can download documents, fact sheets and sample forms to explore and complete.
• Step 3. Talk with the adult's doctors and care teams to get good care every day.
  • A supportive person can help share the completed Personal Care Plan with the adult's doctors and care teams to get care and services the adult wants and needs and help update the care plan as health needs and care preferences change. 

A Personal Care Plan is a fill-in planning document that helps the adult explore likes, dislikes and personal preferences, communicates choices for medical care and services, and notes one's skills and abilities and needed support and accommodations. The Personal Care Plan includes the following pages:

• My Name and Name of My Supportive Person(s);
• My Personal Directive with six sections to show your choices and personal preferences;
• My Planning Documents checklist and Signature;
• My Summary & Updates.

You can go at your own pace and include any information and documents you like. Once your care plan is complete, you can-

• Share it with your family, doctors care teams and others to get good care;
• Change your mind and update your plan as your health situation changes;
• Attach completed documents (see Step 2) to protect your right to get the care you want.

After choosing a supportive person, they can decide the most comfortable way to fill out the Personal Care Plan. You can either-

• Print a Paper Document- print this tool kit pdf and fill-in by hand; or,
• Make a Digital Document- adapt this tool kit pdf using your computer to type in text and copy and paste in pictures to show your care preferences. See more instruction on the webpage.