"Self-direction is really just giving someone the power to stay within the community, not go into a facility, and having power over living the way they want and receiving that care that they need. Then when you go into homes (as a support broker), you know, they're trusting you. And it's almost like you get an insight into their lives, you get to see what's working for them, what's not."

Second episode of Choose YOU First – A self-direction podcast by PPL

Join host Kelli Barnett-Carey and guest Claude Schmincke as they talk about his journey helping others in Self-Direction.

Claude Schmincke has been working in the self-direction space for about 30 years, first as the sibling of an individual in need of home support care, second as an employee taking care of their sibling as their paid job, third as a consultant at a small Fiscal Intermediary supporting his family and others in NJ, until his current role at Public Partnerships where he works tirelessly to truly make self-direction easier for all.

Throughout his life spent enmeshed in self-direction, he has gone to school at Boston University SFA, spent 10+ years in the Financial Business, lived and studied abroad at Aarhus Business Academy in Denmark, and returned to the United States to be happily married and look after two wonderful cats.

Kelli has been with PPL in all manner of roles for over 8 years. She loves to talk about self-direction and is passionate about making information on self-direction more accessible.

"When I first learned about Self-Direction, I thought what a neat idea. When I get old and gray and say I have some chronic illness […], am I going to want a stranger coming in, not knowing what time they were going to be there, who's going to show up, […]? What I would like to do is I would like to self-direct."

FIRST episode of Choose YOU First – A self-direction podcast by PPL

Join host Mark Altieri and guest Suzanne Crisp as they talk about the history and future of self-direction.

Mark is the Vice President of Business Development for PPL, but Mark will tell you he is committed to the concept of self-direction for more personal reasons. Mark's son was diagnosed with a health condition at a very young age, which led Mark to a deep understanding of the journey that PPL's participants maneuver to get funding and care for themselves and/or loved ones. Mark is a passionate advocate of self-direction – ask anyone who has met him. He holds an MBA from Brandeis University in Social Policy and Management and lives with his wife and two children in Massachusetts.

Suzanne spent 1998-2001 as the Assistant Director for the Arkansas Department of Aging and Disability Services. In 2001, she joined the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to develop policy and advocate for self-direction nationally. Suzanne led the National Resource Center for Participant Directed Services (NRCPDS) technical assistance team. She is also co-author of the Fiscal/Employer Agent Core Standards, representing industry best practice, as well as Self-Direction: A Handbook. Suzanne is regarded as one of the most influential leaders in the field of self-direction and HCBS policy and regulation.