The College of Direct Support (CDS)

The College of Direct Support (CDS) “Educating a workforce of Direct Support Professionals to support individuals with disabilities is what we do – “Building Careers, Supporting Lives.” Our curriculum, values and mission are based on the premise that all people should live life to its fullest in community-based settings.

The College of Direct Support is a learning gateway for contemporary best practices for Direct Support Professionals. By incorporating web-based learning, backed by nationally recognized curricula, the CDS is designed to help support a profession of direct care.

ABOUT CDS

The College of Direct Support -- CDS -- did not happen overnight, but it has come quite a distance in three years in fulfilling its commitment to train and celebrate a workforce of direct care professionals nationwide. CDS is a web-based learning management system available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for learners to improve their skills in caring for people across disabilities.

CDS now reaches learners in 25 states from coast to coast with approximately 40,000 people making use of the training on a daily basis. We are training direct support workers in California, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Minnesota, Mississippi, Kansas, Tennessee, South Dakota, New Hampshire and Missouri, to name a few.

Our training curriculum is infused with a set of values and skill standards to train Direct Support Professionals and their supervisors and managers as they support people in community-based settings. Values such as inclusion, honored rights, leading self-determined lives and ethical, values-based treatment, among others, are at the core of CDS training and our mission.

We invite you to spend time with us here at the College of Direct Support and learn exactly what we do, who does it and where. We are all about improving the lives of those with disabilities and thus improving the lives of their families by “Building Careers and Supporting Lives.” That’s the collective vision for the people we serve."

Parallels in Time

A multimedia presentation of the history of developmental disabilities

Person-centered planning Education Site

“What is person-centered planning?
We're glad you asked! Person-centered planning is a process-oriented approach to empowering people with disability labels. It focuses on the people and their needs by putting them in charge of defining the direction for their lives, not on the systems that may or may not be available to serve them. This ultimately leads to greater inclusion as valued members of both community and society.

Person-centered planning involves the development of a "toolbox" of methods and resources that enable people with disability labels to choose their own pathways to success; the planners simply help them to figure out where they want to go and how best to get there.

In this site you will find:

• an overview of the person-centered planning process
• a self-study course covering the basic processes involved
• a quiz section to help you focus on areas you may need to cover more thoroughly
• a compendium of readings and activities for you to use on your own
• various links and downloadable resources.

. . . all of which are geared toward facilitating and enhancing your awareness of and appreciation for person-centered planning. We think you will enjoy your visit with us!

Using a screen-reader program? No problem! This site is completely accessible, and all the study materials found here are available in text-only formats that you can download and peruse at your convenience.”

The Research and Training Center on Community Living
"The Research and Training Center on Community Living provides research, evaluation, training, technical assistance and dissemination to support the aspirations of persons with developmental disabilities to live full, productive and integrated lives in their communities.

Featured Publications & Products
National Residential Information Systems Project (RISP) - For over 20 years, the National Residential Information Systems Project has been collecting and disseminating annually, national and state statistics on public and private residential services, Medicaid program utilization, expenditures, etc.
2006 RISP Report (PDF) (2007); File Size: 24.4 MB
View older RISP Reports

Quality Mall - Quality Mall is a web site that gathers and disseminates information related to or useful in promoting the quality of life for persons with developmental disabilities. It especially focuses on promising person-centered practices and innovations.

College of Direct Support - The College of Direct Support (CDS) is a computer-assisted, competency-based, interactive multimedia training curriculum for direct support professionals in community settings."

The RTC is part of the Institute on Community Integration (ICI), in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota.

Professional Advancement through Training and Education in Human Services. (PATHS)
“PATHS” stands for Professional Advancement through Training and Education in Human Services. The Ohio PATHS Program educates DSPs working in the field of mental retardation and developmental disabilities in the skills needed to work effectively. The results for the DSPs who have participated have been tremendous. DSPs are learning and refining skills and then exhibiting new confidence and professionalism in their work with individuals with MRDD.

Institute on Community Integration
"The Institute was established in 1985 on the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. We are a federally designated University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD - pronounced U Said), part of a national network of similar programs in major universities and teaching hospitals across the country. We

are currently home to over 80 projects and four affiliated centers through which we carry out activities addressing the needs of persons with disabilities across the life span.

Mission
Activities
Program Areas
Affiliated Centers
Partners and Collaborators
Advisory Councils
Funding
Contact Information

Mission

The Institute's mission is to improve the quality and community orientation of services and supports available to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. Rather than providing direct services itself, the Institute works with community service providers, school districts, advocacy and self-advocacy organizations, policymakers, and researchers around the world to provide state-of-the-art information and practices that support the community integration of individuals with disabilities."

Quality Mall
"Welcome to Quality Mall, a place where you can find lots of free information about person-centered supports for people with developmental disabilities. Each of the Mall stores has departments you can look through to learn about positive practices that help people with developmental disabilities live, work and participate in our communities and improve the quality of their supports.

• There are currently 1,329 products listed in Quality Mall
• Come in and browse the Mall.
• Looking for a Specific Product? Search our database.
• Know about something valuable? Nominate a product.
• Learn about the Person Centered Principles that are the Mall's foundation."

The National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities

"The National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities is a project of the University of Delaware's Center for Disabilities Studies in collaboration with the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy, the Department of Individual and Family Studies, and the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy."

Staff Recruitment, Retention, & Training Strategies for Community Human Services Organizations
“Recruitment, retention, and training—the three most challenging issues facing community human services organizations. Now supervisors, managers, and administrators have a practical guidebook for facing these challenges and staffing their agencies with dedicated, motivated direct support professionals. Each chapter of this easy-to-read handbook focuses on a critical workforce issue such as recruiting and hiring employees, socializing and supporting staff, strengthening commitment and skills through mentoring programs, building effective teams, fostering diversity and cultural competence, and designing and surviving organizational change. To help readers meet each of these challenges, the book offers

• a list of specific competencies that supervisors and managers must focus on developing

• practical strategies and the research and demographic data that inform each strategy

• step-by-step instructions on how to turn the strategies into a workable intervention plan and evaluate the plan’s effectiveness

• a list of questions to help readers determine their organizational needs and spark more ideas about how to use the strategies

• charts, guidelines, case studies, checklists, and easily adaptable worksheets that help organizations put the strategies to work

With the sensible, easy-to-implement suggestions in this invaluable book, readers will sharpen their managerial expertise, reduce turnover, and build a more committed, skilled staff.”

PHI
“PHI works to improve the lives of people who need home or residential care—by improving the lives of the workers who provide that care. Our goal is to ensure caring, stable relationships between consumers and workers, so that both may live with dignity, respect and independence.

With nearly 50 staff, PHI works to strengthen our nation’s long-term care direct-care workforce, which includes nearly 3 million home health aides, certified nurse aides, and personal care attendants. PHI's programs activities develop recruitment, training, supervision, and client-centered caregiving practices—along with the public policies necessary to support those practices. PHI’s premise is that creating quality jobs for direct-care workers is essential to providing high-quality, cost-effective services to long-term care consumers: Quality Care through Quality Jobs.”

Better Jobs Better Care
Better Jobs Better Care is a 4-year $15.5 million research and demonstration program, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Atlantic Philanthropies.

The program seeks to achieve changes in long-term care policy and practice that help to reduce high vacancy and turnover rates among direct care staff across the spectrum of long-term care settings and contribute to improved workforce quality

Kansans Mobilizing for Direct Support Workforce Change (KMFC)

"Kansans Mobilizing for Direct Support Workforce Change (KMFC) represents a collaboration of self- advocates, family members, educators, service providers, and state agencies committed to improving the status and training of direct support professionals across Kansas. KMFC has three goals:

1. To develop an adequately compensated workforce to support Kansans with developmental disabilities,
2. To develop a competent direct support workforce to ensure safe, appropriate and community focused services to Kansans with developmental disabilities, and
3. To develop a stable and sufficient direct support workforce to support Kansans with developmental disabilities.

Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) are the foundation of community services for persons with developmental and other disabilities. These frontline workers provide assistance in all aspects of daily living and health care enabling people with disabilities to live, work, and play in their communities. Nationally, low wages, lack of training opportunities, and a lack of professional recognition has resulted in high turnover. The absence of stable, well-trained, competent staff has a negative impact on the health and well being of the persons with disabilities. KMFC is committed to addressing the needs of the direct support professionals. Quarterly meetings are held to continue this agenda."

National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP)
"The NADSP is a coalition of organizations and individuals committed to strengthening the quality of human service support by strengthening the direct support workforce. The group has representatives from the fields of mental health, developmental disabilities, child welfare, education, and many others in the human services community. The Alliance has developed a national agenda to address conditions chronicled for 25 years that are harmful to people who rely on human services. These conditions include high staff turnover, low social status, insufficient training, limited educational and career opportunities, and poor wages. These undermine the commitment of the Direct Support Professionals, and have made it very difficult to recruit and train qualified and committed individuals in direct support roles in every area of human services.

The NADSP believes that service participants and direct support professionals are partners in the move towards a self-determined life, and in complimenting and facilitating growth of natural supports. We recognize that people needing support are more likely to fulfill their life dreams if they have well-trained, experienced, and motivated people at their side in long-term, stable, compatible support relationships. We also recognize that well-planned workforce development strategies are needed to strengthen our workforce."

Direct Care Allince Inc. (DCA)

"Nationwide, we face a critical shortage of high-quality direct-care workers — home health aides, certified nursing assistants, and personal care attendants — who can meet the needs of our country's long-term care consumers — people who are elderly, chronically ill, or living with disabilities.

Direct-care workers provide the vast majority of hands-on care within our long-term care health system. Consumers rely on these workers to provide them with comfort, companionship, and care in an atmosphere that preserves their dignity and well-being. As a result, consumers consistently cite the quality of their relationship with their paraprofessional workers as a primary determinant of their quality of life.

The Direct Care Alliance (DCA) is responding to this crisis in long-term care. We are a growing national, practitioner-based coalition of long-term care consumers, direct-care workers, and concerned healthcare providers who have come together to pursue a common goal: broad-based reforms — both within public policy and healthcare industry practice — to ensure a stable, valued, and well-trained direct-care workforce that can meet consumers' demands for high-quality paraprofessional healthcare services."

PHI's National Clearinghouse on the Direct Care Workforce
"PHI's National Clearinghouse on the Direct Care Workforce is a national on-line library for people in search of solutions to the direct-care staffing crisis in long-term care. A project of PHI, the Clearinghouse includes government and research reports, news, issue briefs, fact sheets, and other information on topics such as recruitment, career advancement supervision, workplace culture, and caregiving practices. The Clearinghouse also houses training manuals and how-to guides, a list of direct-care worker associations and listings to other associations, resources, and events.

In addition, the Clearinghouse publishes original research and analysis, including fact sheets, an annual survey of state initiatives on the direct-care workforce, news stories, and Quality Jobs/Quality Care, a free biweekly on-line newsletter."