Paid professionals generally do not serve as an AR due to the potential conflict of interest.  We recommend that support coordinators and other paid professionals should also not serve as supporters, as they are tasked with empowering the individuals they serve to make their own decisions, as opposed to taking an active role in the process.  For a paid professional to operate as a supporter could pose potential conflicts of interest, blur boundaries, and create challenges upon change of employment.

Recommend adding the last sentence below to Step 4 under the category, Decide Who You Want to Support You:

Step 4: Decide who you want to support you.

Supported decision-making agreement are made up of supporters and decision makers. You are the decision maker and the people you select to help you are the supporters. You can choose anyone you want to be your supporter and you can choose to have many supporters. Some supporters might help you with one thing and others might help you with several things. The decision is up to you. You can also choose someone to be a supporter and your supported decision-making facilitator. This person helps you make sure that the agreement is working and everyone is doing their part. You do not have to have a supported decision-making facilitator if you do not want one. When thinking about who you want as a supporter, think about people that you trust and that know what you want and do not want in your life. You can use the Relationship Map tool to help you think about and write down people who help you and might be your supporters. It is best to not choose anyone who is a paid support for you currently so there are no misunderstandings about their role in your life.