Self Determination is a way of finding recovery through self direction. In discussing setting up a Self Determination arrangement Peer Specialists help individuals to understand how they can use the Medicaid funds that they are eligible for in different ways. It emphasizes working toward recovery through freedom of choice, control over one’s own life, personal responsibility, and access to supports and services.

Services can be directed specifically toward one’s own needs and not toward the needs of a diverse group of peers. One of the largest ways that Self Determination has been utilized through the Recovery Institute has been in helping individuals choose their own staff to meet their goals.

Individuals who have wished to begin their own businesses have hired staff to aid them in such things as training with skill development, sales, and transportation to get tools and to sales events. Others have used the arrangement to help with medication compliance and over all wellbeing.

Peers using the arrangement are in charge of their staff including hiring, management of work activities and satisfaction, and should the need arise firing. In doing this Self Determination promotes the principles of Freedom, Authority, Support, and Responsibility. Each of these responsibilities is designed to help a peer find the ways to learn more independent in their own lives.

In using the freedom of Self Determination they have the ability to choose the way they want to live through directing the ways public dollars are spent on their health care. They have supports to help them continue to grow and not supervision to tell them how to do things. And they have the responsibility to know that they can and should do these things without needlessly using public dollars.