Our code of ethics is your compass to ethical excellence. It builds trust, fuels accountability, and safeguards our reputation. With it, we soar above legal hurdles, navigate crises, and nurture a culture of integrity!

Advocacy

As a DSP, I will advocate with the people I support for justice, inclusion, and full community participation.

Interpretive Statements

As a DSP, I will:

• Support individuals to speak for themselves in all matters where my assistance is needed.

• Represent the best interests of people who cannot speak for themselves by finding alternative ways of understanding their needs, including gathering information from others who represent their best interests.

• Advocate for laws, policies, and supports that promote justice and inclusion for people with disabilities and other groups that have been disempowered.

• Promote human, legal, and civil rights of all people and assist others to understand these rights.

• Recognize that those who victimize people with disabilities either criminally or civilly must be held accountable for their actions.

• Find additional advocacy services when those that I provide are not sufficient.

• Consult with people I trust when I am unsure of the appropriate course of action in my advocacy efforts.

Person-Centered Supports

As a DSP, my first allegiance is to the person I support: all other activities and functions I perform flow from this allegiance.

Interpretive Statements

As a DSP, I will:

• Recognize that each person must direct his or her own life and supports, and that the unique social network, circumstances, personality, preferences, needs and gifts of each person I support must be the primary guide for the selection, structure, and use of supports for that individual.

• Commit to person-centered supports as best practice.

• Provide advocacy when the needs of the system override those of the individual(s) I support, or when individual’s preferences, needs, or gifts are neglected for other reasons.

• Honor the personality, preferences, culture, and gifts of people who cannot speak by seeking other ways of understanding them.

• Focus first on the person and understand that my role in direct support requires flexibility, creativity, and commitment.

Promoting Physical and Emotional Well-Being

As a DSP, I am responsible for supporting the emotional, physical, and personal well-being of the individuals receiving support. I will encourage growth and recognize the autonomy of the individuals receiving support while being attentive and energetic in reducing their risk of harm.

Interpretive Statements

As a DSP, I will:

• Develop a relationship with the people I support that is respectful and based on mutual trust and that maintains professional boundaries.

• Assist the individuals I support to understand their options and the possible consequences of these options as they relate to their physical health and emotional well-being.

• Promote and protect the health, safety, and emotional well-being of an individual by assisting the person in preventing illness and avoiding unsafe activities. I will work with the individual and his or her support network to identify areas of risk and to create safeguards specific to these concerns.

• Know and respect the values of the people I support and facilitate their expression of choices related to those values.

• Challenge others, including support team members (for example, doctors, nurses, therapists, co-workers, or family members) to recognize and support the rights of individuals to make informed decisions even when these decisions involve personal risk.

• Be vigilant in identifying, discussing with others, and reporting any situation in which the individuals I support are at risk of abuse, neglect, exploitation, or harm.

• Consistently address challenging behaviors proactively, respectfully, and by avoiding the use of aversive or deprivation intervention techniques. If these techniques are included in an approved support plan I will work diligently to find alternatives and will advocate for the eventual elimination of these techniques from the person’s plan.

Integrity and Responsibility

As a DSP, I will support the mission and vitality of my profession to assist people in leading self-directed lives and to foster a spirit of partnership with the people I support, other professionals, and the community.

Interpretive Statements

As a DSP, I will:

• Be conscious of my own values and how they influence my professional decisions.

• Maintain competency in my profession through learning and ongoing communication with others.

• Assume responsibility and accountability for my decisions and actions.

• Actively seek advice and guidance on ethical issues from others, as needed, when making decisions.

• Recognize the importance of modeling valued behaviors to co-workers, personsreceiving support, and the community-at-large.

• Practice responsible work habits.

Confidentiality

As a DSP, I will safeguard and respect the confidentiality and privacy of the people I support.

Interpretive Statements

As a DSP, I will:

• Seek information directly from those I support regarding their wishes in how, when, and with whom privileged information should be shared.

• Seek out a qualified individual who can help me clarify situations where the correct course of action is not clear.

• Recognize that confidentiality agreements with individuals are subject to state and agency regulations.

• Recognize that confidentiality agreements with individuals should be broken if there is imminent harm to others or to the person I support.

Justice, Fairness, and Equity

As a DSP, I will promote and practice justice, fairness, and equity for the people I support and the community as a whole. I will affirm the human rights, civil rights, and responsibilities of the people I support.

Interpretive Statements

As a DSP, I will:

• Help the people I support by using the opportunities and the resources of the community available to everyone.

•  Help the individuals I support understand and express their rights and responsibilities.

• Understand the guardianship or other legal representation of individuals I support, and work in partnership with legal representatives to assure that the individual’s preferences and interests are honored.

Respect

As a DSP, I will respect the human dignity and uniqueness of the people I support, I will recognize each person I support as valuable and help others understand their value.

Interpretive Statements

As a DSP, I will:

• Seek to understand the individuals I support today in the context of their personal history, their social and family networks, and their hopes and dreams for the future.

• Honor the choices and preferences of the people I support.

• Protect the privacy of the people I support.

• Uphold the human rights of the people I support.

• Interact with the people I support in a respectful manner.

• Recognize and respect the cultural context (such as, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, socioeconomic class) of the person supported and his or her social network.

• Provide opportunities and supports that help the individuals I support be viewed with respect and as integral members of their communities.

Relationships

As a DSP, I will assist the people I support to develop and maintain relationships.

Interpretive Statements

As a DSP, I will:

• Advocate for the people I support when they do not have access to opportunities and education to facilitate building and maintaining relationships.

• Assure that people have the opportunity to make informed choices in safely expressing their sexuality.

• Recognize the importance of relationships and proactively facilitate relationships between the people I support, their family, and friends.

• Separate my own personal beliefs and expectations regarding relationships (including sexual relationships) from those desired by the people I support based on their personal preferences. If I am unable to separate my own beliefs/preferences in a given situation, I will actively remove myself from the situation.

• Refrain from expressing negative views, harsh judgments, and stereotyping of people close to the individuals I support.

Self-Determination

As a DSP, I will assist the people I support to direct the course of their own lives.

Interpretive Statements

As a DSP, I will:

• Work in partnership with others to support individuals leading self-directed lives.

• Honor the individual’s right to assume risk in an informed manner.

• Recognize that each individual has potential for lifelong learning and growth.