The University of Minnesota’s Research and Training Center on Community Living and the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals Announce the

Direct Support Workforce Development

Moving Mountains Best Practice Awards

Call for Nominations 2004

The deadline for submission of applications for this year's award is 3/30/04. 

The National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) and the Research and Training Center (RTC) at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration are seeking nominations for the 2004 Moving Mountains Awards for best practice in direct support staff workforce development.  These nominations are a component of a national research project in which the RTC will conduct in-depth case studies to richly describe the characteristics, objectives, and outcomes of best practice initiatives designed to improve competence, status, compensation, and stability of direct support staff. 

Nominated programs/initiatives can be small (a single program site within an agency) or large (statewide) in scope and can involve few or many direct support professionals.  Organizations that applied in previous years but were not selected are invited to submit a nomination for this year’s competition.  The RTC is looking for unique and creative initiatives that contribute to improving workforce outcomes for direct support professionals and their employers.  We welcome applications from statewide/regional initiatives, local organizations, and individual people.  Up to two awards will be given each year and winners will be honored at the Reinventing Quality Conference.

Descriptions of the case studies will be disseminated and shared with provider agencies, policy makers, and interested stakeholder groups in a number of ways, including:  on the RTC/DSP World Wide Web Page, as practical illustrations in RTC publications and presentations, and in a final publication on best practice.

Application process

1.      Applications are posted on the RTC University of Minnesota website (www.rtc.umn.edu) by 2/15/04.

2.      Applications reviewed internally by RTC/University of Minnesota for completeness and meeting minimal criteria.

3.      Approved, completed applications reviewed by the national NADSP committee.

4.      NADSP committee submits their top five applicants to the RTC/University of Minnesota for further screening.

5.      RTC/University of Minnesota conducts phone interviews to complete the screening process and make final recommendations to NADSP committee.

6.      In-depth case studies conducted with the top two candidates in April and May 2004.

7.      Awards announced by June 15, 2004.

8.      Awards presented at the August 2004 Reinventing Quality conference in Philadelphia, PA.

Desired Characteristics

1.      The program or initiative advances one or more of the goals of the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals which include:

·         Enhance the status and image of direct support professionals;

·         Provide better access to high quality educational experiences and lifelong learning which enhances competency;

·         Strengthen the working relationship and partnership among direct support professionals, self-advocates, other consumer groups and families

·         Promote systems reform which provides incentives for educational experiences, increased compensation and access to career pathways for direct support professionals through the promotion of policy initiatives (e.g. legislation, funding and practice).

·         Support the development and implementation of a voluntary credentialing process for direct support professionals.

2.      The program or initiative was designed and implemented with input from direct support professionals, consumers and family members (i.e., a stakeholder group including DSPs, families and consumers developed the program).

3.      The program was specifically designed to improve the competence, status, compensation and/or stability of direct support staff (e.g., the goal of the program is to reduce turnover by 5% in an agency/state; the goal of the program is to increase staff competence regarding community inclusion).

4.      The program/initiative has been in existence for at least one year and is in operation at the time of application.

5.      The program/initiative evaluates and reports outcomes to interested stakeholders (e.g., monitors who completes training, where DSPs get jobs and how long they stay).

6.      The program/initiative has a direct -affect on people with disabilities who receive services (e.g., people interview and select their own support staff, recipients of service deliver training to direct support staff; people receiving supports experience enhanced quality of life and self-determination).

7.      The program/initiative focuses on improving community human service supports.

8.      The program/initiative promotes the values articulated in the NADSP Code of Ethics (available at http://www.nadsp.org/library/codetext.html).

To read more about the award and to download a copy of the nomination forms for this year’s competition, click on the following link: http://www.nadsp.org/training/bestprac.html

To read descriptions of the 2003 Moving Mountains award winners go to:  http://rtc.umn.edu/wddsp/projects.html

Please submit your completed application by email if possible to larso072@....  If you do not have email, your completed applications can be submitted to Sheryl Larson, ICI @ U of MN, 214B Pattee Hall, 150 Pillsbury Drive SE, Minneapolis, MN  55455.

 

If you have questions or would like to discuss the nomination, please contact Sheryl Larson by calling 612-624-6024; faxing 612-625-6619 or e-mailing at larso079@....

 

Sherri

 

Sheryl A. Larson, Ph.D.

Institute on Community Integration, U of MN

214B Pattee Hall, 150 Pillsbury Drive SE

Minneapolis, MN  55455

612-624-6024 phone

612-625-6619 fax

rtc.umn.edu