Chester Finn

Chester Finn has been a strong advocate for people with developmental disabilities for more than 20 years. He currently works as a Special Assistant to the Commissioner at the Office of Persons With Developmental Disabilities for the New York State. Chester grew up in western New York, attending school in Lockport and earning his associate degree from Gennessee Community College in Batavia. He is passionate about upholding the rights of people with disabilities everywhere. His goals are to leave things in a better place and be able to teach and mentor young people to be advocates for themselves and others.

Chester worked with the Harvard Law School Project on Disability and Massachusetts Self-Advocates Standing Strong’s (MASS) Supported Decision-Making (SDM) Task Force to understand self-advocates’ priorities for future State legislation on SDM.

Report

Supported Decision-Making: A Self-advocate’s Ten Commandments for Community Members

Working with the Harvard Law School Project on Disability (HPOD) and Massachusetts Self-Advocates Standing Strong’s (MASS) Supported Decision-Making (SDM) Task Force, Chester’s Fellowship was spent working to understand the priorities of self-advocates for future State legislation on SDM, and to create resources for those living with disabilities seeking to better understand supported decision making. In his final report, Chester outlines his “ten commandments” for community members to better engage with supported decision making, and provides an overview as to why it is so critical for those living with disabilities to be supported in making their own life decisions. 

Keywords

Disability rights, supported decision making, guardianship, self-advocacy, legal rights.