About Brokerages

There are 14 Support Services Brokerages across the State of Oregon. Each is committed to assisting adults with developmental disabilities in the development of an individualized plan for community living and access supports to implement the plan.

What is a Support Services Brokerage?

A Support Services Brokerage (or Brokerage) is an organization known as a case management entity that is contracted by the State of Oregon to provide case management services to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who live in their own home or family home.

Brokerages employ case managers called Personal Agents (PAs) to provide in-home and community-based case management services such as completion of a functional needs assessment, development of an individual support plan (ISP), and coordination and referral of support and resources to meet the individual’s needs and goals.

What are Support Services?

Support Services for adults with developmental disabilities are individually designed supports to help the individual live in their own home or with family or friends and fully participate in community life, including work. These services are different from Comprehensive Services, such as residential services, group homes, and foster homes, which may provide 24-hour support.

How did Brokerages come to be?

In the year 2000, a group of five Oregonians with developmental disabilities and their families filed a lawsuit against the state of Oregon (commonly known as Staley vs. Kitzhaber). These five individuals claimed they were unfairly being denied access to services they were entitled to by law. The state settled the dispute out of court in September 2000. This became a class action agreement known as the “Staley Agreement” which in turn affected the service delivery to thousands of Oregonians with developmental disabilities.

The state chose to implement these new services through the creation of private organizations called “brokerages.”  Every brokerage provides services based upon the principles of self-determination.