What it is
The Circle of Support is the key decision-making group in Self-Direction. Its members plan with the person, help identify their strengths and interests, find opportunities in the community, and help recruit staff. It is not an advisory panel and it is not a formality — it is where the plan is actually made.
Who has to be there, and who should be
The person
It is their life and their budget. Participation looks different for different people; absence is not an option to default to.
The Support Broker
Helps build and maintain the circle, and helps plan and run the meetings.
The Care Manager
Holds the Life Plan, which the self-directed plan has to line up with.
Beyond the required three, the circle is yours to build. The people worth inviting are the ones who know the person in a context the family does not see: a favourite staff member, a sibling, a neighbour, a coach, a former teacher, an employer. The test is not affection. It is whether they will say something the family has not already thought.
The failure mode nobody names
A circle made entirely of people who agree with the parents is not a circle, it is an audience. It will produce a plan that reflects the family's anxieties rather than the person's life, and it will not catch the thing everyone is politely not saying. Invite at least one person who is willing to be awkward.
Running a meeting that produces something
Agree what the meeting is for before it starts
"Reviewing the plan" is not a purpose. "Deciding whether to change the respite arrangement" is.
Start with the person, not the paperwork
What has gone well since last time, what has not, what do they want that they are not getting.
Put the hard thing on the agenda
Staff who are not working out, a goal nobody believes in any more, money running short. These get discussed in car parks afterwards if they are not discussed in the room.
End with decisions, owners and dates
Every item: what was decided, who does it, by when. Without this you will have the same meeting again in three months.
Have the broker circulate a short record
Half a page. It is also evidence that the planning work happened, which matters at renewal.
How often
There is no universal rule, and your broker agreement may set an expectation. A pattern that works for most families: a substantial meeting twice a year, one of them timed ahead of renewal so decisions can shape the next budget rather than explain the last one, plus a short check-in whenever something material changes — a staff departure, a health change, a new opportunity.
Time one meeting deliberately
Hold a circle meeting about two months before your budget renewal is due. That is the point where a change of direction can still make it into the new budget. A meeting held after submission can only agree to what has already been written.
When the circle stops working
Circles decay. People move, interest fades, the same two voices dominate, or the meetings become a review of spreadsheets. Problem-solving the circle and restructuring it when needed is an explicit part of the broker's job, so raise it with them directly rather than quietly letting the meetings lapse.
Common problems and what usually fixes them
| Symptom | Usually means | Try |
|---|---|---|
| Only the required three ever attend | Nobody was given a reason to come | Invite specific people to a specific decision, not to a standing meeting |
| The person is present but silent | The meeting is built around documents | Change the format, the location, or the length; ask what they would change |
| Everything is agreed and nothing changes | No owners, no dates | End every item with a name and a date |
| Meetings only happen at renewal | The circle has become a paperwork step | Schedule one mid-cycle meeting with a real decision on the agenda |
| Family and staff disagree openly | Often a genuine difference about risk | Name it as the agenda item rather than working round it |
Questions families actually ask
Is the Circle of Support actually required?
Yes. It is a core part of the Self-Direction model, and helping build and maintain it is one of the Support Broker's required activities. The person, the broker and the Care Manager are required members.
Can staff we employ be in the circle?
Often yes, and a good staff member can be one of the most useful voices in the room because they see the person in situations the family does not. Be aware of the dynamic: an employee may find it hard to disagree with the person who sets their hours.
What if the person does not want a meeting?
Take that seriously rather than overriding it. Ask what they object to — often it is the format, the length, or being talked about in the third person. Some circles meet over a meal, some meet in twenty minutes, some split into smaller conversations.
Does the Fiscal Intermediary attend?
Not as a required member. Some families invite them once a year, which can be useful before renewal because FIs see the practical consequences of budget decisions across many families.
Where this comes from
Written from the OPWDD source documents below and reviewed against them on 23 September 2026. OPWDD policy and figures change; confirm anything that affects a decision with your Care Manager or your DDRO Self-Direction Liaison before acting on it.
Keep reading
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