The Principles of Self-Determination, as defined by the Center on Self-Determination are:

• Freedom to choose a meaningful life in the community
  
  
• Authority over a targeted amount of dollars
  
  
• Support to organize resources in ways that are life enhancing and meaningful to the individual with a disability
  
  
• Responsibility for the wise use of public dollars and recognition of the contribution individuals with disabilities can make to their communities
  
  
• Confirmation of the important leadership role that individuals with disabilities and their families must play in a newly re-designed system and support for the self-advocacy movement
  

We believe that Self-Determination is not a program with a predefined set of services and a hackneyed method of delivering them. Instead, Self-Determination is when an individual advocates for his/her own needs, desires or preferences and chooses the supports necessary to create a personally meaningful life. Self-Direction has no boundaries and isn’t something ascribed solely to people with developmental disabilities – it is the right all individuals living in a free society should enjoy.

One of the precepts of Self-Determination is the shifting of power and control from the funding agency to the Customer. Instead of traditional slot-based services with minimal choice, the new system provides a dynamic approach to meeting the needs of the individual on his/her terms.