Beneficiary Support Toolkit for Trust Professionals
Inspired by the Best Practices Guidelines from the innovative Life Passages Project, this toolkit was developed to support trust professionals as they work to advance new standards for the trust community and improve the lives of trust beneficiaries.
In this toolkit, you will find general advice and information as well as practical tools, checklists, and guides to help you and your staff build confidence in the following areas:
- How will I communicate with the beneficiary and their family?
- How will this person make decisions?
- How do I find the supports and services this person needs?
- How do we budget for all of this?
The Word documents linked below can even be customized for your organization.
Chapter 1: Communication
- Introduction: How Will I Communicate With the Beneficiary and Their Family?
- Plain Language and Readability Resources
- Accessibility Advice and Checklist
- Respectful Communication Tips
- Determining Communication Preferences
- Sample Check-In Questions
- Systems for Clear, Consistent, and Effective Communication
- Handling Challenging Communications
Chapter 2: Decision-Making
- Introduction: How Will Decisions Be Made?
- Learning How Decisions Are Made
- Gathering Informed Consent
- Keeping Beneficiaries at the Center of a Budget Plan
- Weighing Duty of Care and Dignity of Risk
- Updating Decision-Making Arrangements and Goals
- What to Do With a Poor-Quality Substitute Decision Maker
Chapter 3: Supports and Services
- Introduction: How Do I Find Supports and Services for My Beneficiary?
- Identifying Public Benefits and Systems
- Learning About Existing and Desired Services
- Updating Support and Service Arrangements and Goals
- Matching Supports and Services With Life Goals
- Addressing Disagreements About Supports and Services
To update and improve the toolkit over time, we need your feedback, so please complete this short survey after using the toolkit to share your ideas.
Thank you for all you do to support beneficiaries and manage and administer trusts! The work you do is critical to ensure people with disabilities have the financial resources and materials that they need to live the life they want.
Questions?
Contact The Arc’s Center for Future Planning at futureplanning@thearc.org.
The Arc promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.
