ONA & ISP: Working Together to Support a Person’s Good Life

The Oregon Needs Assessment (ONA) and the Oregon Individual Support Plan (ISP) are two separate processes. They work together, but each has its own purpose and focus. This month, we will explore the purpose of both the ONA and the ISP and how they work together.

Oregon Needs Assessment (ONA)

The Oregon Needs Assessment, or ONA, is a tool that helps to understand what a person needs support with. It asks questions about support needs. The ONA happens once a year or when the person’s needs change. ONAs are led by a certified ONA assessor. They know which questions to ask and who to bring into the conversation. Service Coordinators and Personal Agents (SC/PAs) lead annual ONAs when there are no changes to the person’s support needs.

To learn more about the Oregon Needs Assessment, visit the Oregon Office of Developmental Disabilities (ODDS) ONA webpage.

Oregon Individual Support Plan (ISP)

The Oregon Individual Support Plan, or ISP, is plan that focuses on how the person wants to live a good life. This includes what is important to the person, their dreams and goals, and what support they want.

The person and what they want guides the process of planning. The person also chooses who they want to plan with. This could include friends, family, significant others, and supporters. The Services Coordinator or Personal Agent (SC/PA) helps to guide the planning process. They write the person’s ISP using information about what the person wants, their goals, and the support they would like along the way.

To learn more about the Oregon ISP, visit the Oregon ISP website or the ODDS ISP webpage.

ONA & ISP: What’s the connection?

The ONA is a tool that helps to assess need. It helps to point out areas in a person’s life where they may need support. The ONA does not tell us how a person wants to be supported, if they want support. It just tells us where support may be needed.

For Example: Molly’s ONA shows that she may need support with grocery shopping.

This information is important when planning. While the focus of the ISP the person’s good life, the SC/PA will not forget what a person may want or need to be supported with while getting closer to the life that person wants to live. This means that all areas of support are considered.

For Example: Molly’s ONA shows that she may need support with grocery shopping.

Remember, support can look like many different things. Having a need identified in the ONA does not mean that there must be a paid person to address it. It does not even mean that a person must accept support in that area. The question of how support needs are met is a key part of planning that takes place during the person’s ISP development.

This is a very important role of the SC/PA. Sharing information about a person’s many options for getting support and understanding a person’s choice is sometimes referred to as choice advising. Choice advising is a responsibility of the SC/PA and is discussed during the development of the person’s ISP.

For Example: Molly and her Personal Agent explore resources and options available for support with grocery shopping when Molly lives on her own:

  • Molly’s PSW could go to the grocery store with her each week
  • Jan, Molly’s sister, could help Molly put the list together and video call with her as she goes through the grocery store
  • Molly could set reminders on her phone to order groceries through an online delivery service. She could reach out to her PSW if she gets stuck or has questions.
  • One local grocery store offers shopping assistance to shoppers with disabilities on Saturday mornings.

Molly’s ISP will reflect her choice and how she wants to get support with grocery shopping.

The Oregon ISP planning process considers all areas a person may need support with. That is why we would expect to see all needs identified by the Oregon Needs Assessment (ONA) addressed in the ISP- even if a person’s choice is to decline support in one area.

While these support needs would be included in the ISP, we would not expect to see language from the ONA “copy and pasted” in the ISP itself. The plan belongs to the person. Language in the ISP should be easy to understand. It should not use systems language or jargon. For more information, check out our pipeline article on this subject.

Stay Tuned

Next month, we will explore how the role of the ONA assessor looks different from that of the SC/PA. We will provide examples of the SC/PA and ONA assessor’s responsibilities. As always, reach out to our team with questions or to discuss this topic in more depth.