Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Email: smithmaji@hotmail.com
Phone: 208-659-1643
Mission Statement:
Believing the time has come to plan futures without limits.
Jill Smith is proud to be a Person Centered Planning specialist from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. She started to prepare to be a specialist when she went to college at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. It was at Gonzaga where it was clear that each person has a story that is important to them and how they want to live their life. Early on when working in the children's mental health field, Jill learned what it is like to parent and support a child with developmental disabilities. Medical issues, learning challenges and developmental delays became an everyday thing. She was lucky to be part of the 1998 class of Partners in Policymaking. While going through Partners, she learned that just because a person has a story, sometimes the challenge is figuring out how to tell it. She went back to the Partners program a number of times to present on Person Centered Planning. Professionally, the children's mental health field is a tough one in Idaho; there is never enough supports for kids in our schools. This showed Jill she needed to go back to school for her Masters in Special Education from the University of Idaho. Never wanting to be a teacher, she received her Master's in 2005 in order to help families and professionals to share their stories with each other. After a few years and more training her son was getting older every day so it was important to learn about adult systems for people with developmental disabilities. At her next job, she was able to learn a lot! She was lucky enough to work with the Center on Disabilities and Human Development through the University of Idaho on a variety of projects. Initially, she helped on the Support Broker Training for Idaho's Self Directed Services program. Jill then was part of the Idaho Family Support 360 Project. This federal grant project helped identify a huge need we have - helping families hear and respect how an adult with a developmental disability wants to live his or her life. While serving as a support person to the Idaho Self Advocate Leadership Network, Jill learned that telling your story and having it heard are two different things. Currently, she contracts with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and the Idaho Council on Developmental Disabilities providing advocacy and support services for families and adults with developmental disabilities. In 2009-2010, Jill will help coordinate the most recent class of Partners in Policymaking with Jill Young. This is the result of a 15-year journey to help families and adults with developmental disabilities live their lives how they choose, as respected and valued community members.