The Brokerage Process

There are six primary steps involved in becoming and being a customer of brokerage support services.

Step 1: Referral

Community Pathways receives customer referrals through Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties' offices of developmental disability services. You can choose to have your case management services through a county developmental disability program (CDDP) or a brokerage, like Community Pathways.

Step 2: Personal Agent

When you enroll with Community Pathways, you are connected with a case manager, known as a personal agent (PA). The PA is not a direct support provider, but they are a main point of contact to help you with coordinating services, accessing resources, and advocacy. Individuals may choose to change who their PA is, as requested.

Each PA serves a maximum of 45 individuals on their case load.

Step 3: Planning

Your PA works with you, and your support team, to use person-centered planning techniques to gather information about your preferences, strengths, needs, goals, and health and safety risks. An assessment tool is used to help figure out what level of services you are eligible for. Your PA will then help you create an individualized support plan (ISP). The ISP documents your goals, outlines the supports and services you will use, and helps providers know how to best support you. Paid supports are meant to promote independence, integration, and self-determination.

Step 4: Implementing

After the ISP is created, your PA helps you find providers who will deliver the support you need to meet your ISP goals. You are responsible for choosing the providers that best fit your needs. A provider can be a natural support (unpaid) or someone who is paid through ISP funds.

Step 5: Monitoring

Through regular contact with your support team and providers, you and your PA work together to monitor the quality and effectiveness of the services provided to you, and the progress you make toward achieving your goals. Based on how things are going, you can work with your PA to make changes to your ISP goals and support services.

Step 6: Adjusting

Changes in life happen all the time. Your PA works with you and your support team to make changes to your supports and services, as requested. The ISP is meant to be a “living document” that adjusts to fit your current needs and goals.