Planning Live is an inclusive and engaging series of conversations that brings the people who are important to a person together, either in-person or remotely, to listen to what is important to them and discuss a range of options that result in desired outcomes and a “perfect week” on which to base the planning of the person’s support and, if applicable, individual budget.

Planning Live draws on skills, principles and practices from the Learning Community for Person-Centered Practices, Michael Smull, John O’Brien, Beth Mount and Helen Sanderson. Planning Live provides the foundation needed to meet HCBS requirements for person-centered planning and to facilitate person-centered plans with people who are transitioning to the self-determination program.

Planning Live aims to help a person, their family, friends, and others who support them to have the best possible chance of creating a plan that is both ambitious and practical, and importantly, one that is true to what is important to someone.

“The Planning Live training has been an invaluable experience, giving me the tools and knowledge I needed to become an effective Person Centered Planning Facilitator. Additionally, the training has been a wonderful process of discovery and collaboration, giving me greater insight into my own life and goals. I highly recommend the training for anyone who is interested in supporting individuals on their path towards a more person-centered life.” – Lisa Szilagyi, Aurelia Foundation Creative Steps

Who is this program for?

• Planning Live is great for those who want to develop their own person-centered plan or facilitate the planning process with others.
• HCBS grant recipients looking to build internal capacity for person-centered planning.
• Self-Determination Local Advisory Committees looking to build the skills of Independent Facilitators in your area to offer person-centered planning.
• Experienced Person-Centered Plan Facilitators wanting to deepen their knowledge and practice.
• People who want to coach and train others within their organization.

How the program works

• Participants can expect to invest approximately 5-6 hours each week, including course time, coaching time, and individual and partner work.
• As a participant, you will develop and receive coaching and feedback
• We will meet weekly on Tuesdays from 9am – 12pm PST and on Thursdays from 10:30am -12:00pm PST
• Orientation session will be on March 26, 2026 from 9:30am – 10:30am PST
• Plan to spend about 5-6 hours per week to learn and practice.
• We will use Zoom.

Modules are designed to review person-centered approaches and experience the Planning Live process while completing with a partner your own person-centered description, personal outcomes, actions, and needed supports. Weekly coaching sessions will focus on additional practice and a deeper dive into planning topics. H S A will facilitate the planning sessions and provide feedback on individually developed person-centered descriptions/plans

Topics include:

• Person Centered Planning- Principles and Approaches
• The Facilitator Roles and Responsibilities
• Facilitating five phases of person-centered planning: Pre-planning, Discovery, Positive Change, Outcomes and Actions, and Supports and Spending Plans.
• Developing meaningful outcomes and actions using the Outcome Sequence and Support Sequence
• Writing the plan summary and developing spending plans
• Graphic Recording – the power of images
• Facilitation practice with scenarios
• Review of curriculum and coaching resources

Meet the Instructors:

Andrea Schacht H S A Associate~ Andrea is a plan facilitator and graphic recorder with decades of experience as the mother of a son with a developmental disability and former regional center Service Coordinator and Services and Supports Manager. She brings warmth, color, and creativity to keep things simple, keep things real, and keep things fun! Andrea is a Person-Centered Thinking Mentor Trainer certified by The Learning Community for Person-Centered Practices.

Shawna Hall, H S A Associate~ Shawna is a Person-Centered Thinking trainer and brings her personal experience as a self-advocate and her outstanding facilitation skills to make sure the voices of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are heard. She is a certified Spiritual Director and is pursuing a graduate degree in Counseling.

Attendance and time commitment: Organizations are encouraged to send multiple participants to ensure peer support for implementation. Participants are expected to attend all sessions. The approximate time commitment is 5-6 hours per week including a 3 hr. session and reflection with a learning partner, plus additional time for personal planning practice and application. This may vary based on personal application.

Prerequisite: Completion of person-centered thinking training. Upon registering, you will be asked to provide a certificate of completion of Person-Centered Thinking training, delivered by a certified trainer of the Learning Community for Person-Centered Practices. If you have not completed this training visit our website at helensandersonassociates.com or the Learning Community website at tlcpcp.com to register for an upcoming course, or contact us to learn how you can satisfy this requirement.