This week, The Times Record will be taking a look at adults in our community living with intellectual disabilities, starting with individual profiles running Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We think you’ll find that their stories are as unique as the challenges they face.

Times Record reporters were able to connect with these individuals, their families and caregivers thanks, in large part, to the Independence Association, a group founded 50 years ago to assist adults and children with disabilities in becoming included in the community.

Independence Association has been sounding the alarm over the implementation of the Supports Intensity Scale, a proposed method used to determine what state resources are allocated to individuals.

Under consideration in Augusta, SIS would replace the process used by the state wherein a team made up of family members and providers jointly determined what level of services were necessary for proper care.

Instead, SIS will categorize those with behavioral disabilities into one of five tiers with three funding categories based on a one-time assessment. The Independence Association is concerned that the SIS’s protocols for determining what level of care an individual needs is inadequate, and they warn that ensuing cuts to services could be catastrophic.

On Friday, we’ll take an overall look at the impact of SIS on the individual, their families and caregivers, and examine why this change — which impacts one of the most vulnerable segments of our society — is being considered in the first place.