Advancing the Profession of Direct Support
Training and Professional Development
The following resources provide online training for direct support professionals, frontline supervisors, and managers.
DirectCourse is a competency-based online training curricula designed to educate and empower the direct support workforce. Curricula include the following areas:
- The College of Direct Support
- The College of Frontline Supervision, Management, and Leadership
- The College of Employment Services
Relias is a leading workforce education and enablement solutions provider, empowering healthcare organizations and their staff with integrated tools and learning content.
Open Future is an online learning provider dedicated to the direct support workforce.
Through the NADSP E-Badge Academy, DSPs and FLSs can get credit for competency by achieving stackable electronic badges, or e-badges, which can then be used to attain nationally recognized NADSP Certification.
NADSP Code of Ethics for Direct Support Professionals
The Code of Ethics is intended to serve as a straightforward and relevant guide for DSPs as they resolve the ethical dilemmas they face every day and encourage them to achieve the profession’s highest ideals.
New York State Core Competencies:
The culture in which supports are provided for people with I/DD has evolved to become increasingly person-centered with a strong emphasis on personal choice. In addition, a greater emphasis has been placed on ethical practice and a high level of competence when providing support. The nature of these components led to OPWDD’s identification of the need to establish a set of Core Competencies that combine the technical skills for the provision of high-quality support, with more value-based skills needed to assist people to make their own decisions, and live and work within the community.
Coupled with the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) Code of Ethics, these values-based competencies and skills are the foundation of person-centered supports for New Yorkers with I/DD. The Core Competencies that guide DSPs include seven goal areas covering all aspects of the person’s life, and also include the importance of professionalism in direct support. There are seven goal areas:
- Putting People First
- Building and Maintaining Positive
- Relationships
- Demonstrating Professionalism
- Supporting Good Health
- Supporting Safety
- Having a Home
- Being Active and Productive in Society
Within each goal, there are competency areas that are defined by specific skills that can be demonstrated by a DSP in their work.
These skills include a wide range of technical skills, such as Medication Administration, as well as value-based skills, such as advocating with the individual being supported.
https://opwdd.ny.gov/providers/core-competencies
The National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals and the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration produced the following videos to illustrate the nine tenets of the Code of Ethics.
Introduction to the Code of Ethics
NADSP training director John Raffaele provides an overview of the Code of Ethics for direct support professionals.
Code of Ethics Tenet 1: Person-Centered Supports
As a DSP, my first allegiance is to the person I support; all other activities and functions I perform flow from this allegiance.
Code of Ethics Tenet 2: Promoting Physical and Emotional Well-Being
As a DSP, my first allegiance is to the person I support; all other activities and functions I perform flow from this allegiance.
Code of Ethics Tenet 3: Integrity and Responsibility
As a DSP, I will support the mission and vitality of my profession to assist people in leading self-directed lives and to foster a spirit of partnership with the people I support, other professionals, and the community.
Code of Ethics Tenet 4: Confidentiality
As a DSP, I will safeguard and respect the confidentiality and privacy of the people I support.
Code of Ethics Tenet 5: Justice, Fairness, and Equity
As a DSP, I will affirm the human rights as well as the civil rights and responsibilities of the people I support. I will promote and practice justice, fairness, and equity for the people I support and the community as a whole.
Code of Ethics Tenet 6: Respect
As a DSP, I will respect the human dignity and uniqueness of the people I support. I will recognize each person who I support as valuable and promote their value to our communities.
Code of Ethics Tenet 7: Relationships
As a DSP, I will assist the people I support to develop and maintain relationships.
Code of Ethics Tenet 8: Self-Determination
As a DSP, I will assist the people I support to direct the course of their own lives.
Code of Ethics Tenet 9: Advocacy
As a DSP, I will advocate with the people I support for justice, inclusion, and full community participation.
National Frontline Supervisor Competencies
A nationally validated set of 11 competency areas, known as the National Frontline Supervisor Competencies, guides frontline supervisors’ work in the direct support workforce. Below is an overview of the competency areas.
1. Direct support
Frontline supervisors demonstrate excellence in providing culturally appropriate direct support services to participants using person-centered approaches and strategies that support participants to be fully engaged and included in each aspect of their daily lives, have maximum choice and control, and gain independence.
2. Health, wellness, and safety
Frontline supervisors work with participants and their teams to develop a support plan based on individual preferences and goals to promote the participants’ health, safety, and well-being. They actively monitor, review, discuss with participants, and modify support plans to ensure the most effective strategies are in place.
3. Participant support plan development, monitoring, and assessment
Frontline supervisors operationalize participants’ individual goals and identify outcomes in a coordinated support plan. Frontline Supervisors coordinate and facilitate support network meetings, maintain communication with other service providers, family, and allies, and monitor, document, and report progress toward goals.
4. Facilitating community inclusion across the lifespan
Frontline supervisors facilitate and support the development and maintenance of participant support networks in partnership with the person supported. They also support the participant in exploring educational, employment, volunteer, and retirement opportunities and collaborate with other staff and providers to coordinate supports that will assist the participant in reaching goals and actively participating in activities of their choice across the lifespan.
5. Promoting professional relations and teamwork
Frontline supervisors enhance professional relations among team members and their capacity to work effectively with others toward common goals by using effective communication skills, facilitating teamwork, and supporting and encouraging growth and professional development.
6. Staff recruitment, selection, and hiring
Frontline supervisors use best practices to recruit and lead a selection process that includes participants and their support network. They provide sufficient information about the position through a realistic job preview and conduct effective interviews to promote successful hires of direct support professionals.
7. Staff supervision, training, and development
Frontline supervisors coordinate and lead competency-based direct support staff training and professional development activities, including coaching and mentoring. They conduct performance reviews and are responsible for all aspects of staff supervision, including scheduling and maintaining training records.
8. Service management and quality assurance
Frontline supervisors effectively manage and oversee participant services and supports in group, individual, and remote service settings. They also comply with all federal, state, and local rules and regulations and apply ethical principles related to best practices in services and supports. Frontline supervisors also oversee financial activities within the scope of work assignments to ensure continued quality service delivery.
9. Advocacy and public relations
Frontline supervisors promote public relations by educating community members about the rights of people with disabilities and advocating for and with participants for services and opportunities that promote safe, respected, and valued membership in the community.
10. Leadership, professionalism, and self-development
Frontline supervisors maintain professionalism and engage in ongoing self-development and professional development activities. They share and receive knowledge from others, support coworkers, and actively participate in the life of their organization.
11. Cultural awareness and responsiveness
Frontline supervisors respect all unique characteristics of participants by providing culturally appropriate support and services.
Podcasts
DSP Talk
Produced by the New York Alliance for Inclusion and Innovation, this podcast explores the complex world of disability support. Episodes highlight the journey towards community inclusion, the significance of a competent workforce, and the vital role of direct support professionals in the lives of those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Wellness Matters for Direct Support
Hosts Mark Olson and Chet Tschetter talk about their work experiences as DSPs and how they approach wellness from a personal perspective.
A Closer Look
This podcast series is for direct support professionals and frontline supervisors who want to learn more about best practices for supporting people with intellectual disability.
Campaigns
New York State has launched public awareness campaigns to raise awareness about the contributions of DSPs and the challenges they face. These campaigns aim to foster a greater appreciation for DSPs and the important work they do in communities throughout the state.
A public awareness campaign to ensure that public funds would 1) support the minimum wage increase in the rates paid to provider agencies and 2) increase pay do DSPs receive a living wage.
A DSP recruitment campaign featuring a user-friendly hub for job seekers.
