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THE SEATTLE 2000 DECLARATION ON SELF-DETERMINATION AND INDIVIDUALIZED FUNDING
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(This Declaration was developed during the First International Conference on Self-Determination and Individualized Funding, which was held in Seattle in July 2000, and was presented in draft form to the 1250 attendees at the closing plenary.)
This conference has been founded on the certainty that people with disabilities have the same rights as other citizens to freedom, equality, equal protection under the law, and control over their own lives. These rights must be honoured if people who have disabilities are to be fully included as valued citizens in the relationships and opportunities of community life.
Many people require personal supports or other services to ensure their full citizenship and inclusion. These supports and services must be funded and provided at a level and in ways that uphold the rights of the individual.
This conference is no less certain that these rights have often been disregarded. Citizens who have disabilities experience oppression in many aspects of their lives. The causes of oppression include poverty, other people’s attitudes, and the systems of publicly and privately funded support services, comprising –
· laws, policies and regulations;
· state and private sector funding bodies;
· agencies which provide services.
These systems operate in ways that deny control to those they are intended to serve. Without accountability to those who require their assistance, these systems decide how, where and with whom people shall live and spend their days. While this situation persists, people of many nations will not be able to exercise their rights or fully participate in their communities. For these reasons, this conference calls on policy makers in all countries, at all levels of government, and on agencies which provide support, to ensure that the assistance made available to all citizens is based on the following principles:
(To view the entire text of the declaration go to http://members.home.net/directfunding)
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