Georgia CommonsSR 151: Self-Direction Day; recognize February 26, 2025
Last action February 11, 2025 · Senate Read and Adopted
A Georgia Senate resolution designates February 26, 2025 as Self-Direction Day, honoring a home and community-based services model that lets people with disabilities direct their own care.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the resolution and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Enrolled version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
This resolution does not change any Georgia law. It formally recognizes February 26, 2025 as Self-Direction Day in honor of a service delivery option called self-direction, which lets people with disabilities and elderly Georgians choose how, when, and from whom they receive home and community-based care and support. The resolution describes how self-direction gives individuals more control over their services, can improve satisfaction and quality of life, and has been part of Georgia's Medicaid waiver programs since it began in the Independent Care Waiver Program in April 2005. It notes the model is now available through five different Home and Community-Based Waiver Programs in Georgia. The resolution directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies to the public and press.
What the bill does
- Formally designates February 26, 2025 as Self-Direction Day in Georgia.
- Recites the history and benefits of self-direction as a model for delivering home and community-based services (HCBS) to people with disabilities and elderly residents.
- Directs the Secretary of the Senate to make copies of the resolution available to the public and press.
- Does not create, fund, or alter any state program, agency duty, or law.
Who it affects
People with disabilities and elderly Georgians who use Home and Community-Based Waiver Programs, their families, and the state agencies that administer these Medicaid waiver services, since the resolution highlights a service option already available to them.
Why it matters
Because this is a ceremonial resolution, it does not change funding, eligibility, or services for anyone. Its main effect is to publicly highlight the self-direction option within Georgia's home and community-based waiver programs, which some families rely on for more control over their care.
Key provisions
- The resolution's whereas clauses describe self-direction as letting individuals choose how, when, and from whom their services are delivered.
- States self-direction began in Georgia in April 2005 through the Independent Care Waiver Program and is now available in five Home and Community-Based Waiver Programs.
- The resolving clause designates February 26, 2025 as Self-Direction Day.
- A further resolution clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies to the public and press.
From the bill
“self-direction is an optional model of home and community-based service (HCBS) delivery that enables individuals of all ages, with all types of disabilities, to maintain their independence at home in their local community”
“the members of this body recognize February 26, 2025, as Self-Direction Day”
Status timeline
- Senate Read and Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Matt Brass (R, SD-006)
- Larry Walker (R, SD-020)
- Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
- Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)
- Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
- Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
- Tonya Anderson (D, SD-043)
- Harold Jones (D, SD-022)
- Frank Ginn (R, SD-047)
- RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
- Freddie Sims (D, SD-012)
- Derek Mallow (D, SD-002)
- Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)
- Brian Strickland (R, SD-042)
- Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
- Sam Watson (R, SD-011)
- Timothy Bearden (R, SD-030)
- Blake Tillery (R, SD-019)
- Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)
Topics
- disability services
- home and community-based services
- Medicaid waivers
- Georgia Senate resolution