Everyone accesses a variety of supports to meet their day-to-day needs, support the achievement of long-term or short-term goals, solve problems, or enhance their quality of life.
The Integrated Support Star principle and tool can be used by anyone (individuals, families, or professionals) to guide their thinking about supports. It can be used for mapping current services and supports, problem-solving for a specific need, or planning the next steps. The star can help explore current needs, identify gaps, or plan how to access supports for the future.
Skills, personal abilities, knowledge or life experiences;
Strengths, things a person is good at or others like and admire;
Assets, personal belongings and resources
Family and others that love and care about
each other;
Friends that spend time
together or have things
in common;
Acquaintances that come
into frequent contact but
don't know well
Needs based services based on age, geography, income level, or employment status;
Government paid services based on disability or diagnosis, such as special education or Medicaid
Places such as businesses, parks, schools, faith-based communities, health care facilities;
Groups or membership organizations; Local services or public resources everyone uses
Personal technology anyone uses; Assistive or adaptive technology with day to day tasks;
Environmental technology designed to help with or adapt surroundings
The tool can be used to guide a conversation over the phone or facilitate an in-person planning meeting with one person or a group of people. For an overview of “how” and “why” to use the Integrated Supports Star, download the Tip Sheet.
Helps people look at different kinds of support in their life and how they work together.
Helps people look at different kinds of support in their life and how they work together.
Learn how the Integrated Supports Star takes users from services being a barrier to integrating, connecting, and leveraging supports for a good life.
Watch this video to hear how the Integrated Supports Star can be used for problem-solving real-life issues, and how all the categories of the star are connected and can work together.
Each of the videos below describes a different section of the star and provides users ideas on supports that could be accessed in that area of the star.
The Personal Strengths and Assets part of the Integrated Supports Star is explained, and a real-life example of personal strength is given.
Relationships can be an important support for achieving your desired outcomes. This video explores different sources of relationship supports you might consider.
This video helps explore different kinds of eligibility, or paid systems supports, that someone might be able to receive that can work together with other supports around the star.
Examples of how community resources – places, groups, or resources that anyone has access to as a member of that community, can be a source of support in the integrated star.
Learn about how technology can be used as a support, and how the star can help you identify gaps and explore how technology can help people be more independent.
These “Starter Stars” will help you get started brainstorming integrated supports in the life domains and related topics.
Explore supports in all the categories of the star that would help with getting or keeping a job, building a career, or other goals for daily life and employment.
Discover ideas in each area of the star to get you started thinking about options for a variety of supports that will help you lead a healthy life or work on goals for healthy living.
This “starter star” will help you with ideas for supports in all the sections of the star for friendships, social activities, and other social and spiritual goals.
Explore options in each part of the star for housing, home adaptations or modifications, accessing the community, and other goals for community living.
Consider supports and resources you could access in each of the star categories that could help make respite possible or a better experience for you and your loved one.
Learn about supports to help you think about building valued roles, making choices, being responsible and other advocacy and engagement goals.
People can use this star to think about different kinds of supports to help them with making choices and decisions, and supports for communicating their decisions to others.
This “starter star” will help generate ideas for staying safe and secure, overall well-being, and dealing with legal rights and issues.