Person-Centered Planning: Analysis of Research and Effectiveness

Person-centered planning is a well known and widely used approach to individual program planning in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities. Its purpose is to develop collaborative supports focused on community presence, community participation, positive relationships, respect, and competence. Because there is little research on its effectiveness, our purpose here was to (a) review the current status of effectiveness research; (b) describe its effectiveness in terms of outcomes or results; and (c) discuss the effectiveness of person-centered planning in relation to evidence-based practices. Analyzed studies suggest that, overall, this planning has a positive, but moderate, impact on personal outcomes for this population. The body of evidence provided in this review is weak with regard to criteria for evidence-based research.