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RTC Online Publications & Products
Below is a list of publications and products related to RTC work that are available online. You can also view a list of offline publications.
Bibliographies
Books/Book Chapters
Case Studies & Best Practices
Fact Sheets
Film/Multimedia
Periodicals
Reports
Surveys, Assessments & Other Tools
Training Resources, Guides & Curricula
Web Sites
Bibliographies| • | Statistical Analyses Based on the National Health Interview Survey on Disability: A Bibliography and Summary of Findings (PDF) - This annotated bibliography contains a summary of research publications based on original analyses of data from the 1994-1995 National Health Interview Survey on Disability. This bibliography describes 112 articles that were grouped in six categories: methods; assistive technology and personal assistance services; policy issues; populations of special interest; types of disability; and out of scope. Key findings are briefly summarized in each area. (2005); File Size: 141 KB
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Books/Book Chapters | Make the Day Matter! - Adults with disabilities enjoying active, rewarding, and meaningful daytimes in their communities—that's the reality when service providers and programs tap into innovative support strategies that really work.
A call to action and an in-depth guide to the most effective strategies, this illuminating resource gives service providers proven ideas for supporting adults with significant disabilities.
Throughout the book, detailed case stories from across the country combine with practical guidelines to show professionals how to replicate success stories in their own communities. And with the extensive discussion of organizational change, programs will have a blueprint they can use to make the critical shift from facility-based to community-based services. (2007)
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| • | Supporting Adults to Live in the Community - A chapter by Steven J. Taylor, in Adults with Down Syndrome, S. M. Pueschel (Ed.). This chapter examines community living in the context of a critique of the principle of the least restrictive environment and the traditional residential services continuum. It describes characteristics of current, alternative approaches such as supported living and self-determination. (2006)
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| • | Out of the Institution Trap - A chapter by John O'Brien, in K. Johnson & R. Traustadottir (Eds.), Deinstitutionalization and people with intellectual disabilities: In and out of institutions (pp. 259-273). This chapter discusses resistance to and dissolving of the institution trap, and outlines as agenda for moving on from institutionalization. (2005)
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| • | The Institutions Are Dying, but Are Not Dead Yet - A chapter by Steven J.Taylor, in K. Johnson & R. Traustadottir (Eds.), Deinstitutionalization and people with intellectual disabilities: In and out of institutions (pp. 93-107). This chapter examines the history of the use of the continuum model of services and the principle of the least restrictive environment. It concludes with discussion of the consensus and controversy that still surrounds deinstitutionalization today. (2005)
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Case Studies & Best Practices| • | Learning about self-advocacy from life history: A case study from the United States - by Rannveig Traustadottir. This paper takes a historical look at self-advocacy and examines how life history work can be helpful to further an understanding of the development, context, and importance of the self-advocacy movement. Journal article. In S. Ledger & L. Tilley (Eds.), The history of self-advocacy for people with learning difficulties: International comparison [Feature issue]. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 34(3), 175-180. (2006)
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| • | A Summary of Observation on Consumer Monitoring (PDF) - This report summarizes observations from experiences observing and interviewing participants in programs in with individuals with developmental disabilities have been engaged in monitoring the quality of community services. (2000); File Size: 44 KB
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| • | Reviews of the Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Programs in Six States - These reports summarize findings and observations of site visits to six states between February and
August, 2000 to view and discuss with key state officials, service providers, program participants and
others the implementation, outcomes and challenges of each state’s Medicaid Home and Community-
Based Services (HCBS) “waiver” program. The six states were chosen based on an array of statistical
data on state HCBS programs to reflect the full range of “development.” (2000)
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Fact Sheets| • | Analysis of the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) Minimum Data Set (MDS) Characteristics of Nursing Home Residents in 2000 -
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| • | NHIS-D Fact Sheets - These Fact Sheets are based on the preliminary analysis of the characteristics and needs of people with mental retardation or developmental disabilities (MR/DD) from the National Health Interview Survey-Disability Supplement (NHIS-D). They are updated regularly as additional analyses are done.
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Film/Multimedia| • | The Community Imperative - This video, provided in both VHS and DVD formats, is a documentary of a conference held in Oakland, California in 2002 to revisit the values underlying The Community Imperative.
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 | Direct Support: A Realistic Job Preview (RJP) (brochure) (PDF) - An RJP is a recruitment strategy used to give potential employees detailed and balanced information about job expectations, the employer, and the worksite, so they can make an informed decision about accepting a job offer from the employer. This professionally produced 22-minute video illustrates the real, everyday work of direct support professionals.; File Size: 44 KB
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Periodicals | DD Data Brief - A series summarizing analyses of the 1994/1995 National Health Interview Survey-Disability Supplement.
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 | Frontline Initiative - Newsletter for the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP).| • | Premier Issue (PDF) - Volume 1, Number 1 (1996); File Size: 133 KB |
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 | Impact - A quarterly newsletter containing articles that focus on areas related to persons with developmental disabilities.
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 | Policy Research Brief - A newsletter summarizing research on policy issues affecting persons with developmental disabilities.
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Reports| • | Disability Studies: Information and Resources - The materials in this information package reflect the diversity of the field of Disability Studies. Included are contributions representing different disability groups, perspectives, and disciplines, including sections on Disability Studies Books, Chapters, and Articles; Films and Documentaries; a listing of North American academic programs in Disability Studies; Periodicals; Special/Features Issues of Periodicals; Organizations; Special Interest Groups of Professional Organizations; Internet Resources; and Resources for Teaching Disability Studies, a special section that suggests books and readings on Disability Studies that can be used in courses in various academic disciplines. (2003)
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| • | Minnesota Waiver Report - An independent evaluation of the quality of services and system performance of Minnesota's Medicaid home and community based services for persons with mental retardation and related conditions. (2000)
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| • | 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.
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| • | National Validation Study of Competencies For Frontline Supervisors and Direct Support Professionals - This study examined organizational workforce outcomes; characteristics of and differences between managers, Frontline Supervisors (FLS) and Direct Support Professionals (DSPs); and workplace competencies, training needs, and timing of training for FLS and DSPs. Using survey methodologies, the study validated nationally the results of two comprehensive Minnesota analyses of competencies needed by DSPs and FLS, extending the existing analyses by sampling direct support professionals (DSPs), first-line supervisors (FLS) and managers in 77 agencies in five states. (2007)
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| • | Final Report: National Training Institute For Frontline Supervisors and Technical Assistance Project (PDF) - This project was designed to refine, test and deliver a National Training Institute for Frontline Supervisors using a "Train-the-Trainer" model and a distributed learning, technical assistance and consulting model to assist community human service employers, families and consumers from across the country to recruit, retain, and train direct support professionals and Frontline Supervisors. (2007); File Size: 97 KB
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| • | Redesigning Case Management Services for People With Disabilities in Minnesota (PDF) - The Minnesota Legislature requested a proposal for reforming the case management system for all persons with disabilities under age 65. The Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota, conducted a review of current practices in Minnesota. The report also contains a review of best practices and innovative models in case management throughout
the country. (2007); File Size: 1.47 MB
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| • | Higher Ground: The Dedication of Direct Support Professionals During and After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (PDF) - This report is devoted to describing the dedication of the DSPs that continuously supported individuals with disabilities
throughout he disasters of hurricanes Katrina and Rita and their aftermath. These stories, told by DSPs who worked for
Volunteers of America (VVOA) of Greater New Orleans, provide rich descriptions of why they continued to work at VOA throughout the Katrina and Rita experiences. By far, the most common reasons DSPs reported staying with VOA were because they liked the people they supported and they felt that the people they supported liked, appreciated, and needed them. (2007); File Size: 1.28 MB
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| • | Minnesota Quality Assurance Panel Interviews with Counties Final Report (PDF) - This report summarizes the results of interviews with county officials in Minnesota regarding their quality assurance efforts. These interviews addressed both current practices as well as recommendations for improvements to the quality assurance infrastructure at the local, regional and state levels. (2007); File Size: 47 KB
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| • | Minnesota Statewide Quality Assurance Activities by Service Type (PDF) - The Minnesota Quality Assurance Panel examined existing quality assurance activities in
Minnesota before developing its recommendations for revisions to this system. This document is
a summary of the information collected by the Panel about the various QA activities. (2007); File Size: 126 KB
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| • | A Case Study of the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation’s Development & Implementation of
Quality Councils (PDF) - Prepared by the Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) this report gathers information on Massachusetts regional council membership, how information is shared between regional councils and the statewide council, costs associated with operating regional and statewide councils, and next steps under consideration by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation. This case study addresses these key areas of program development and provides an overview of the Massachusetts quality council experience to date. (2007); File Size: 154 KB
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| • | CMS Direct Service Workforce Demonstration Promising Practices in Marketing, Recruitment and Selection Interventions (PDF) - The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) initiated a demonstration project to improve the Direct Service Community Workforce to test the effectiveness of different workforce interventions on the retention and recruitment of Direct Service Workers (DSWs). This report identifies promising practices in direct service worker marketing, recruitment, and selection across the CMS grantees. Under a contract to provide technical assistance to the DSW grantees in collaboration with The Lewin Group (Lewin), the Research and Training Center developed this report. (2006); File Size: 401 KB
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| • | Instrument Review for Statewide Sample of Service Recipients (PDF) - This memo and the attached copy of the CMS Quality Framework was used by the Minnesota Quality Assurance Panel to develop the set of outcome indicators to be used to gather information from service recipients that will establish the status and limitations in quality in service delivery, support responses to problems and assist in implementing programs of quality improvement. (2006); File Size: 65 KB
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| • | Evaluation Of Case Management Model Hennepin County Developmental Disabilities Program (PDF) - This report is an evaluation of the newly implemented model for case management services for persons with developmental disabilities. It addresses the following issues, and includes a comparison of the newly implemented model with previous practices and best or alternative practice from literature reviews: 1. How does the new case management model support and encourage client choice and control? 2. How does the new model address county responsibilities? 3. Does the county have any exposures or vulnerabilities under the new model? 4. How does the new model address responsiveness to clients? 5. Will the new model allow the county to meet the needs of growing numbers of clients with fixed case management resources? 6. Will the new model be effective in assuring client health and safety considerations? The report is based in part on information gathered through focus groups with all case managers and supervisors, a survey of all case managers and supervisors, and interviews with a selected number of consumers. (2005); File Size: 361 KB
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| • | It’s How You Look At Your Work That Makes the Difference”: Direct Support Workers Consider the Meaning of Their Jobs (PDF) - by John O’Brien is based on discussions with direct support workers from the South Central Division of Creative Community Living Services (CCLS), an agency that provides residential services in Wisconsin, on ways to build competence, continuity and commitment to positive values in the developmental disabilities services workforce that involves building a deeper understanding of the ways direct service workers make their jobs meaningful and satisfying. (2004); File Size: 274 KB
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| • | Inclusion in Education: Issues and Resources - This information package contains an extensive annotated bibliography, selected readings on inclusive education, as well as information on Internet mailing lists, web sites, and selected organizations and projects providing information and services concerning inclusive education. A brief listing of current resources on IDEA is also included. (2003)
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| • | Beyond Compliance: An Information Package on the Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Postsecondary Education - This information package contains essays, reprints, and resources designed to assist postsecondary institutions to move beyond compliance and to include disabled persons in all aspects of campus life. It is not intended to provide step-by-step guidelines or to serve as a comprehensive manual on all aspects of inclusion and accommodations. Rather, it is designed to offer some perspectives, strategies, and resources that individuals can use to advocate for the inclusion of people with disabilities at universities and postsecondary institutions. (2003)
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| • | Waiting List Report - Results and findings from a national survey of state directors of developmental disabilities services regarding the nature of state programs and responses for persons with mental retardation and developmental disabilities (MR/DD) waiting for services.
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Surveys, Assessments & Other Tools| • | Find, Choose and Keep Great Direct Support Professionals - The Illinois Direct Support Professional Workforce Initiative has created two versions (family and individual) of a toolkit designed to provide easy-to-use tips and strategies to help people to find, choose and keep high quality Direct Support Professionals. Anyone can download a copy of either or both versions of "Find, Choose, and Keep Great Direct Support Professionals FREE using the links below: (2007)
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| • | Reflecting on Social Roles: Identifying Opportunities to Support Personal Freedom & Social Integration (PDF) - by John O’Brien. The purpose of this review tool is to encourage thoughtful discussion of the meaning of "least restrictive and most integrated" as criteria for service adequacy. With this tool, multiple dimensions of a person's life can be examined, including: home and neighborhood, family and friends, work, learning, spiritual and religious, community association, sports and fitness, and creative expression. (2006); File Size: 787 KB
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| • | "Community For All" Tool Kit - A useful set of resources for promoting deinstitutionalization and institutional closure. The tool kit is a product of collaboration between the RTC and the Center on Human Policy at Syracuse University, the American Association on Mental Retardation, The Arc of the United States, The Council on Quality and Leadership, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, and TASH. (2005)
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 | Direct Support Professional Recruitment Toolkit (brochure) (PDF) - The Direct Support Professional Recruitment Toolkit arms individuals, families, consortiums, and organizations with the marketing tools they need to attract and recruit quality staff into direct support roles. Traditional sources for employee recruitment including newspaper ads, brochures, and flyers, have frequently been generic and flat. This tool changes that approach into a dynamic and targeted recruitment campaign for human service agencies and those who direct their own supports.
Target Marketing Target marketing is essential to attract the quality staff you desire. Although many employers are aware of what target marketing is, they find it difficult and time consuming to create a different marketing campaign for the different groups of people they wish to attract for employment. The targeted groups include: stay at home moms/dads, college students, Gen-Yers, seniors, faith-based communities, Spanish-speaking communities, and displaced workers.
Customization The Direct Support Professional Recruitment Toolkit is designed to be customized to reflect you or your organization's mission, vision,and values as well as your logo, and contact information for interested applicants. The Direct Support Professional Recruitment Toolkit includes brochures, flyers, newspaper ads, and recruitment cards for each of the seven target marketing groups. Materials are provided to you on a CD-rom in both Microsoft Word™ and Adobe PageMaker™ formats. (2004); File Size: 127 KB
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| • | Assessing Retention Outcomes (PDF) - This document and form will help you to determine your turnover and vacancy rates to choose strategies for retention, identify reasons your agency experiences turnover, and provide a benchmark for how well current interventions are working. (2000); File Size: 14 KB
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| • | Agency Plan Hints and Sample (PDF) - Agency Plan Hints and Sample is a tool to use when completing your agency plans. We have also included a sample plan in this docment for review. It will help you think about many of the things you need to include or at least think about when preparing your specific agency plan.; File Size: 40 KB
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| • | Cost Per Hire Worksheet (PDF) - This worksheet will help you to estimate the real cost of hiring new employees.; File Size: 17 KB
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| • | Checklist of Effective Recruitment Strategies (PDF) - This chart can be used to assess how many creative strategies this organization is using now, the extent to which those strategies are working, and whether the organization would like to start using the strategy in the future.; File Size: 10 KB
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| • | Effect of Recruitment Sources on Retention (PDF) - This chart can be used to determine which recruitment sources yielded the greatest percentage of new hires who stayed in the organization for at least a year.; File Size: 9 KB
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| • | Recruitment Source Effectiveness (PDF) - This chart can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of recruitment strategies. Use this form to calculate which recruitment source yielded the highest percentage of actual hires.; File Size: 8 KB
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| • | Market Analysis Survey (PDF) - This survey can be used to learn about the demographic and work characteristics of employees in an organization, county, or state. It was devleoped for use in Ohio for a recruitment campaign.; File Size: 22 KB
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| • | Frontline Supervisor Self-Assessment (PDF) - This assessment tool is designed to help Frontline Supervisors identify their current level of skill in the Minnesota Frontline Supervisor Competencies and Performance Indicators, and to serve as a basis for a self-development plan in these areas.; File Size: 70 KB
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| • | Training Needs Assessment - FLS version (PDF) - This survey lists each of the competency areas and specific skills from the Minnesota Frontline Supervisor Competencies and Performance Indicators and asks frontline supervisors to prioritize their most important training needs.; File Size: 18 KB
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| • | Direct Support Professional Self-Assessment (PDF) - This assessment tool is designed to help Direct Support Professionals identify their current level of skill in the Community Support Competency Skills Standards, and to serve as a basis for a self-development plan in these areas.; File Size: 50 KB
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| • | Training Needs Assessment - DSP Version (PDF) - This survey lists each of the competency areas and specific skills from the Residential Version of the Community Supports Skill Standards and asks DSPs to prioritize their most important training needs.; File Size: 15 KB
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| • | Exit Survey (PDF) - This is an adaptation of the staff satisfaction survey specifically designed to learn the opinions of staff who are leaving. Because the questions are parallel, scores can be compared to those for staff who are current employees.; File Size: 12 KB
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| • | Staff Satisfaction Survey (PDF) - The first page of this survey is a general satisfaction survey for staff. Items on which fewer than 80% of the respondents say the organization is good or excellent are areas where changes may be needed. The second page of this survey summarizes opinions about the best aspect of organizations, what organizations can do differently to help people in their jobs, factors that make people want to leave and factors that make employees want to stay at the organization. The response choices were developed based on open ended responses to these questions from several hundred direct support professionals in several studies.; File Size: 12 KB
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| • | New Staff Survey (PDF) - This survey assesses the extent to which a new employee's experiences matched his or her expectations. Averages scores of less than 4 on the five point scales identify areas in which better information should be provided during the hiring process.; File Size: 8 KB
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Training Resources, Guides & Curricula| • | Make a Difference: A Guidebook for Person-Centered Direct Support - by John O'Brien & Beth Mount, with contributions from Peter Leidy & Bruce Blaney. This book is written for direct support workers themselves and for the people who manage or help direct support workers. Included are many worksheets and case examples. (2005)
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| • | Department of Labor DSP Apprenticeship Notification (PDF) - Notification from the US Department of Labor that the occupation of Direct Support Specialist is an apprenticeable occupation. Includes a written description of the occupation and the Standards of Apprenticeship (2001); File Size: 40 KB
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| • | A Guidebook on Consumer Controlled Housing - This guidebook was developed to advance the consideration of consumer controlled housing options by people with developmental disabilities, their families, and others who help them. (2000)
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| • | Through Asking the Right Questions, You Can Find the Support You Need - Based on the ideas of people with mental retardation, as well as their family members and advocates, the RTC on Community Living developed a comprehensive yet simple set of questions that people with disabilities and their advocates can use to evaluate a prospective living or work situation. (1999)
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 | The Minnesota Frontline Supervisor Competencies and Performance Indicators (PDF) - The purpose of the Frontline Supervisor Competencies and Performance
Indicators project was to identify those competencies required of frontline
supervisors providing community support services to people with developmental
disabilities in order to foster the development and implementation of excellence
in service provision. (1998); File Size: 328 KB
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| • | Realistic Job Preview Overview (PDF) - Realistic Job Previews (RJP) are any method an agency or business uses to help prospective employees get a balanced picture of the positive and negative aspects of the work they will be doing and the organizational climate, prior to the offer of a position. This overview compares various RJP methods.; File Size: 28 KB
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| • | Community Residential Core Competencies (PDF) - Describes needed competencies for direct support staff working in community residential services for people with developmental disabilities.; File Size: 30 KB
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| • | Ohio PATHS Program - Started in 2001, this demonstration project designed and tested the specifications of a high quality, voluntary credentialing and training program for direct support professionals.
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| • | Person-Centered Planning Training Manuals - Manuals for training facilitators in person-centered planning processes. (2001)| • | Training Person-Centered Planning Facilitators: A Compendium of Ideas (PDF) - This manual is for those experienced in facilitating person-centered planning processes who wish to conduct training for others. Several different formats and many different exercises, materials and handouts are presented. This manual primarily uses Personal Futures Planning, but some materials presenting basic information about other formats (Essential Lifestyle Planning, PATH, and Whole Life Planning) is also included. This manual is a companion piece to Increasing Person-Centered Thinking.; File Size: 1.9 MB |
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| • | Removing the Revolving Door: Strategies to Address Recruitment and Retention Challenges - A curriculum targeting frontline supervisors and managers regarding the use of effective recruitment, retention, and training strategies. (2001)
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| • | The Peer Empowerment Program (PEP): A Complete Toolkit for Planning and Implementing Mentoring Programs Within Community-Based Human Services Organizations - A curriculum designed to create a mentoring program in community-based human service organizations. (2001)
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| • | The Power of Diversity: Supporting the Immigrant Workforce - A curriculum to assist supervisors and other agency staff find, support, and retain immigrant workers which includes a Facilitator Guide and a Learner Guide. (2001)
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Web Sites| • | Cognitive Technology Literature Database - The Cognitive Technology Literature Database is designed to provide a comprehensive, searchable bibliography summarizing research on cognitive technologies utilized by persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. (2005)
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| • | College of Frontline Supervision and Management - The College of Frontline Supervision (CFS) is an online multimedia training resource focusing on the topics of how to recruit, train, and retain high quality direct support professionals.
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| • | The Illinois Direct Support Professional Workforce Initiative-Project Web Site - Web site for a three year workforce systems change initiative funded by The Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities (ICDD) that is designed to improve recruitment and retention of Direct Support Professionals in Illinois, who are competent and confident in the skills needed to provide quality supports and services to individuals with developmental disabilities.
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| • | NADSP.org - Web site for the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals
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| • | LifePages.org - An interactive web site designed to help people with developmental disabilities to connect to area recreation and leisure opportunities and with other individuals with similar interests.
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| • | 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.
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 | 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.
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