October 2007
Lori Carter is a Key Player in Integrating CDS into Virginia's Mental Health Arena
by Tom King
If it has to do with training at the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute in Falls Church, Lori Carter is all over it.
She is the NVMHI Nursing Staff Development Coordinator and oversees all aspects of nursing staff education, including orientation, Psychiatric Technician Certification Training, Nursing Student Clinical experiences for various local universities and colleges, weekly nurse training sessions and various competency testing and training.
There’s more. She runs the Quality Control and Performance Improvement Program for the dept. of nursing, as well as programming for patient group therapy for the various levels of patient care provided. She also sits in on committees such as Pharmacy and Therapeutic and Nursing Executive and Leadership committees. She stays busy. She has a staff of seven in the Training department.
Lori is the NVMHI administrator for the College of Direct Support, a role she assumed in November 2005 when Virginia cross-walked CDS from training Direct Support Professionals supporting people with developmental disabilities into the mental health sector. Virginia is the first state to make use of CDS in mental health settings and currently 76 learners – all Psychiatric Technicians employed at NVMHI – are taking the courses.
“We have had great support and much success thus far and plan to continue in the vein as the state moves forward with the career ladders that will offer competencies linked to CDS courses,” Lori said. “I like the ease at which we can obtain reports and information about classes taken by the employees and the staff enjoys the convenience of studying the CDS in any setting that allows internet access. This has been very useful for those on our staff who prefer to work on the classes in the local library or at home.”
In any facility or organization, the CDS administrator is the key to its success. Lori knows the nursing business. She is an APRN-BC – Advanced Practice Registered Nurse – Board Certified.
“Lori has been an inspiration not only to the CDS program but to the direct support professionals working within our mental health hospitals,” said India Sue Ridout, Workforce Development Director of the Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services (DMHMRSAS). “With her enthusiasm and commitment to providing quality care to our mental health consumers, she recognized very early the significance of the CDS curriculum and its best practices for all disciplines within her organization and the Commonwealth.”
The Virginia CDS Demonstration Program that ended in February “... demonstrated an exceptional evaluation of the program within our developmental disabilities system,” Ridout said. “Demands were growing within our mental health system for cost effective and efficient training for our mental health direct support workforce and one that demonstrated best practices in the field of disabilities. Utilizing the CDS Crosswalk, our Director's of Nursing partnered with Human Resources to evaluate how effective the CDS program would be within our mental health hospitals.”
That evaluation led to a recommendation that CDS be implemented in the sixteen (16) state mental health facilities in Virginia. Following the recommendation of the teams, Commissioner James S. Reinhard, M.D., funded the program to be implemented across disabilities, allowing both DD and mental health the availability to utilize the training resource. In 2006, a budget proposal was submitted and approved by the Governor and the General Assembly to fund the CDS for an additional two years along with the development of a DSA Career Pathway Program for state facilities. In July 2007, the DMHMRSAS, Office of Mental Retardation funded the community service boards and private provider organizations for one year to use the CDS curriculum.
To date, there are 3,880 Learners across Virginia participating in CDS, of which 1,856 are within its mental health hospitals. Forty-seven percent (47%) of the direct support staff are participating and more than 1200 RN's, LPN's, Case Managers, Food Services, Housekeeping and other staff are benefiting from the program.
“Our success with this program across disabilities has been due to the partnerships and collaboration of many dedicated individuals to improving the quality of services to our consumers,” Ridout added.
At NVMHI, Lori was instrumental in the creation of a new computer lab that is housed in a classroom that is very close to the units so staff can drop in throughout their day to work on CDS curriculum.
She said the “younger techs right out of college” jumped into the CDS and needed little direction. “They quickly whizzed through the courses and demonstrated an increased level of knowledge as evidenced by their performance,” Lori said, adding that the techs 35 and older required training on basic computer use. “They now know how to access their state e-mail accounts, how to negotiate the CDS web site and this has increased their level of knowledge and comfort and resulted in a Psychiatric Tech base that now has basic computer skills and an ongoing opportunity to educate themselves via the web-based trainings provided by CDS.”
During the almost two years that Lori has been the administrator, she has found a way to customize the CDS features in her other training initiatives.
“The CDS training gave me the idea of putting our competencies for nursing staff on the hospital-wide internet and on CD Rom. We have greatly expanded our use of video clips and live photos (like CDS) to show and demonstrate what is being taught. I got these ideas from feedback from the staff about how much they liked the way the CDS was not just words on a computer screen,” she said.
“We have also added audio for those staff members who prefer to listen and view the information and found that all of these efforts have assisted us in getting more information to the staff in a more user friendly and faster manner, and getting the competencies completed in a more efficient manner. I plan to move all of these trainings to the CDS system (customize our system) so that they too can be accessed from any location that one can get on the internet.”
Another reason for NVMHI’s success with CDS is the support it received from the center’s leadership, she said. “Our facility director, Linda Lacey, the HR director, the IT support person, the Hospital Finance Committee, Buildings and Grounds, Nursing Unit Managers, After Hours Nursing Supervisors and Charge Nurses, assistant CNE – all of these departments and employees played an essential role in assuring that our rollout and upkeep of the CDS initiative was and continues to be a success,” she said. “The Charge nurses supported the training by scheduling time for the Psychiatric Techs to get to the computer lab to complete classes. Sally Garrett, the CNE, and the Finance Committee worked together to create incentive programs for those who completed the modules assigned.”
You may reach Lori Carter for more information at 703-207-7319 or via email at Lori.Carter@nvmhi.dmhmrsas.virginia.gov.
Functional Assessment Course Now Available
We are excited to announce the release of the latest addition to the College of Direct Support’s curriculum – the course on Functional Assessment.
Functional assessment is a tool that helps Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) learn more about people. It is useful for finding answers to the question of why a person engages in disruptive or harmful behaviors. Often DSPs are asked to participate in the process of functional assessment. DSPs will find it helpful to understand the purpose of functional assessment.
Functional assessment is a structured method of looking at behavior. It helps DSPs support people to have more satisfying and fulfilling lives. Functional assessment includes careful observation, asking good questions, and working with others. This course will review what DSPs know about behavior. They will then learn about other types of assessments and the role of comprehensive assessment in functional assessment. Finally, you will learn how to use this information to plan for people.
The following lessons are included in this course:
- Lesson 1: Understanding Behavior and Participating in the Functional Assessment Process
- Lesson 2: Strategies for Gathering and Organizing Functional Assessment Information
- Lesson 3: Comprehensive Assessments and the Role of the Direct Support Professional
- Lesson 4: Using Functional Assessments and Behavior Support Plans
If you have any questions, please feel free to call Annie Woodruff or Donna Kosak at CDS, toll free (877-353-2767).
‘Higher Ground’ Examines DSP’s Role After Hurricanes Katrina & Rita
When Hurricane Katrina struck the city of New Orleans and the coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on August 29, 2005, hundreds of people with developmental disabilities were displaced.
Roads were severely crowded or impassable. Cell phones didn’t work.
Many didn’t know where their family members were.
And yet the dedicated Direct Support Professionals stayed with those they supported and made sure everyone was evacuated to higher ground – sacrificing personal needs along the way. For months, these dedicated women and men, working long hours for low pay, put others before themselves, providing care and support with improvised resources. For these heroes of New Orleans, being a Direct Support Professional (DSP) is much more than a job.
And now there is a documentary available that honors those DSPs and tells their stories.
“Higher Ground: The Role of Direct Support Professionals During and After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita” was produced for the Volunteers of America by the Research and Training Center (RTC) on Community Living at the University of Minnesota. The funding for the 47-minute, close-captioned DVD documentary was provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and ANCOR (American Network of Community Options and Resources).
“It’s a calling for these DSPs,” says Jerry Smith, Media Producer for the RTC at the University of Minnesota who produced and directed the documentary. “It’s all about the relationships. These DSPs were not going to abandon the people who needed them the most.”
Smith spent “hundreds of hours” editing and producing the DVD after spending a week in New Orleans in August 2006 doing interviews and meeting these DSPs and others. His work followed up on a report done for the Volunteers of America by three members of the RTC staff – Dr. Amy Hewitt, Senior Research Associate and Director of Interdisciplinary Training, Dr. Sheryl Larson, Project Director, and Dr. Traci LaLiberte, who was a Research Associate. Their report came after five focus groups with 41 participants and individual interviews with DSPs, frontline supervisors and administrators about their experiences.
Renee Pietrangelo, ANCOR’s chief executive officer, said they are going to promote the video to member agencies and state associations to use in their organizations and with their stakeholders. “There is a short version of the DVD being developed that we will urge ANCOR member agencies to use as a leave-behind with state legislators, state human services officials, the governor's office and with federal congressional representatives,” she said. “And, of course, it’s another piece in our arsenal of real stories about the incredible work and dedication of Direct Support Professionals.”
The documentary, available for $49, which includes shipping, can be purchased at the documentary’s website – www.highergroundthemovie.org.
For additional information, you may contact Smith at 612.624.4336 or via email at smith495@umn.edu.
New Disaster Preparedness Publication Ready
When disasters occur, people with disabilities are often among those most in harm’s way. In many cases it is because the planning and resources in place to respond to disasters and emergencies haven’t made adequate provisions for people with disabilities.
A new publication, “Impact: Feature Issue on Disaster Preparedness and People with Disabilities” from the Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota seeks to address the need for greater inclusion of people with disabilities in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery efforts.
“By providing strategies, stories and resources for use by disability service providers, advocates, individuals with disabilities, families, policymakers, and interested others the publication seeks to give readers information they can use to help ensure that when the next disaster or emergency occurs, no one is left behind,” said Dr. Amy Hewitt, Senior Research Associate and Director of Interdisciplinary Training of the Research and Training Center on Community Living at the University of Minnesota.
CDS will be adding a lesson on Disaster Preparedness to the upcoming revision to the course on “Safety at Home and in the Community.”
The new publication is available online at http://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/201/default.html.
In addition to the online publication, print copies of this publication are available by contacting the Publications Office at the University of Minnesota at 612-624-4512 or by email at icipub@umn.edu. The first print copy is free. To order additional copies at $4 each, please complete and mail in the order form at http://ici.umn.edu/products/order.html.
CDS and Minnesota RTC Staff Staying Busy Spreading the Word
The College of Direct Support is on the road.
We thought we’d fill you in on where we’ve been lately, where we’re going and who all is going and coming and spreading the word and telling the CDS story around the country. Our partners at the University of Minnesota are busy at conferences, meetings and conventions. Many of their meetings are about workforce development and invariably the CDS is part of the conversation.
From the Knoxville CDS office:
CDS Administrator Workshops: Sept. 15-19 in Los Angeles and Sacramento, CA, Donna Kosak and Annie Woodruff.
Brandon Hall “Innovations in Learning Conference” – Sept. 24-26, 2007, Santa Clara, CA. Bill Tapp, CDS National Director, and Dr. Amy Hewitt, Senior Research Associate and Director of Interdisciplinary Training at the University of Minnesota’s Research and Training Center, and Jim Hicks, Senior Vice President, MC Strategies/Elsevier.
National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities National Conference – San Diego, October 7-9. Bill Tapp.
National Council on Continuing Education and Training (NCCET) – Oct. 7-9, Louisville, KY. Jim Hicks and Tom King, CDS Communications Director.
The Arc of the U.S. – Oct. 10-13, Dallas. Bill Tapp, Jim Hicks, Tom King, Charlie Lakin, Director of the Research and Training Center, University of Minnesota.
From the University of Minnesota Research and Training Center:
CDS Marketing Presentation to child welfare people in Connecticut – Pilot Program Jumpstart, May. Traci Laliberte.
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Seminar on Critical Challenges in ID/DD and RTC/ICI Responses to Them – May 3. Dean, faculty and graduate students of the new Center on Developmental Disabilities. Charlie Lakin.
ARRM Spring Conference – Building Careers Supporting Lives in MN, May 10, St. Paul, MN. A CDS Panel Presentation, Nancy McCulloh and John Sauer.
Alliance for Full Partnership – MN Steering Committee, May 23, Minneapolis. Susan O'Nell.
MNDACA Conference – Building Careers Supporting Lives in MN, June 14, Brainerd, MN. CDS presentation, Nancy McCulloh and John Sauer.
Hennepin County Flexible Case Managers (FCM) Meeting – August 8, Minneapolis. CDS Presentation, Nancy McCulloh and Susan O'Nell.
Aging and Disabilities Odyssey Conference – The College of Direct Support, August 22, in Duluth, MN. Nancy McCulloh.
Maryland Association of Community Services – Strategies for Direct Support Professional Workforce Development, Sept. 25-26, Hershey, PA. Nancy McCulloh.
We Welcome 3 New Clients
Montana….Idaho….New Jersey.
We welcome these learners, agencies and states to the College of Direct Support family.
Montana is going to use the CDS statewide to train a workforce that supports 3,604 clients.
Idaho is conducting a one-year pilot project that will support 293 people served.
In New Jersey, working through the Elizabeth Boggs Center, there are nine New Jersey agencies that have partnered with the New Jersey Direct Support Professional Workforce Development Coalition in a two-year pilot with the CDS. The pilot will focus on a total of 1,000 people with developmental disabilities. The plan is for 100 Direct Support Professionals and 50 DSP mentors and supervisors to take the curriculum.
The Boggs Center is part of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Department of Pediatrics. The Boggs Center, since its inception in 1983, has emphasized a community-based, life-span approach to the needs of individuals with the full range of developmental disabilities and their families.
CDS: 'By the Numbers'
CDS Key Numbers: 63,000 Plus & 2 Million
63,296. That figure is the number of enrolled learners in the College of Direct Support as of Oct. 1, 2007.
Another numerical milestone has been reached: the “assigned lessons” category has topped the 2 million mark at 2,106,708 and is growing with new states and agencies coming on board.
Not included in these numbers are new lessons assigned in Tennessee, Idaho and New Jersey.
The CDS is now being utilized in approximately 383 facilities around the country and statewide in 12 states and by agencies and organizations in another 15 states, in addition to one in Canada.
Michelle Kael Joins CDS Team
The newest member of the College of Direct Support team is Michelle Kael. Michelle’s focus is on customer support, working closely with CDS Administrators Donna Kosak and Annie Woodruff on implementations and assisting clients.
Michelle is a graduate of Tulane University and is very close to earning her Masters in Education from Lincoln Memorial University. She and husband Kurt relocated to Knoxville from New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She is the mother of two daughters.
Michelle is a former school teacher and has done marketing and promotional work as well. We welcome Michelle to the CDS team!
Moore Center Services Shares the Impact Of Using CDS in our Latest Partner Profile
Moore Center Services, Inc. is a special place, staffed by special people who support special people.
The Moore Center, in Manchester, N.H., was founded in 1960 by a small group of parents who came together to support one another and their families. Since then it has grown into a large nonprofit organization that supports approximately 1,700 individuals with developmental disabilities and acquired brain disorders to live and work in their communities.
Throughout its 47-year history, Moore Center has provided individualized services directed at enhancing each person's quality of life. The individuals served by the center’s staff of more than 300 live in a variety of community settings: with their own families, in a community residence, in foster care families, and in independent settings.
The Moore Center is featured in our latest Partner Profile and you can access it from by clicking on Partner Profile or on our website – www.collegeofdirectsupport.com – under the Publications button.
The Moore Center is the Area Agency for Region 7 in New Hampshire and supports approximately 500 people in the Community Care Waiver and another 1,200, including Family Support. It also is responsible for another 200 to 300 individuals served by Vendor Agencies throughout its geographic region.
Three years ago the Moore Center began using CDS to train its Direct Support Professionals and frontline supervisors. The Partner Profile gives information about the impact CDS has had on turnover and on the continued professionalization of its Direct Support staff.
Winter Leadership Institute Accepting Applications for January 2008 Session
The Winter 2008 Leadership Institute at the University of Delaware is now accepting applications for its Jan. 13-18, 2008 week-long sessions held at the Center for Disabilities at the university in Newark, DE.
The Institute is part of the National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities.
The Institute’s focus is on determining and setting organizational direction, moving the organization to a high-performance model and building a lifetime network of peers and leaders to sustain career growth. The program is designed for current executive-level leaders, those identified by their organization as emerging leaders and those who aspire to leadership positions.
Applications for the January session are due by October 24. You can apply online at www.nlcdd.org or for more information call 302.831.2940.
A Very Special National Anthem at Fenway
It was Disability Awareness Day at Fenway Park on June 30th and a young man with autism, Peter Rometti, was chosen to sing the National Anthem.
About halfway through the song he started to have some trouble with the song that is marked by his uncontrollable laughing.
What happened next has touched many hearts. Peter is supported by HMEA at its Hopedale, MA, facility where he attends programs five days a week. Doug MacPherson, Vice President of Development and Public Relations at HMEA, worked with Dan Lyons, Manager of Entertainment and Special Events Operations for the Boston Red Sox, to coordinate the special day.
Paste or click onto the link below to see how supportive the Boston Red Sox fans were for Peter.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhcZRFcjbhw
Reminder Time: October 30 is Deadline for ANCOR Community Builder Awards
The deadline is fast approaching for entries to be submitted for the ANCOR Foundation’s prestigious 2008 Community Builder Awards to honor and recognize exemplary and praiseworthy initiatives and programs that create inclusive communities and meaningful opportunities for people with disabilities.
The entry deadline is Oct. 30th. The awards are given in two categories – Service Provider and Community Member.
For more information about the award and the nomination forms, you can follow this link: www.ancor.org/foundation/community_builder_award.htm.
Mission Statement: 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 promote a profession of direct support.
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