Alliance for Full Participation

By Rachael Sarto, National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals, and Derek Nord, Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota

Providing effective direct supports that assist people in finding and keeping real jobs requires specific skills and knowledge. To advance community employment goals, it is necessary to define the specific competencies employment DSPs must have. Among the groups working to establish a set of competencies for employment direct support professionals are APSE: The Network on Employment, which has offered a comprehensive position statement, and the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP), which is working to develop a Direct Support Professional Specialist credential in Employment Supports.

Drawing from existing APSE and NADSP resources on community-based employment supports, a number of topics emerged as starting points for employment support competencies:

• Understanding Community-Based Employment Supports: It is important for an employment DSP to understand and communicate best practices, history, and current laws related to employment supports. Also essential is a commitment to use the principles of integration, inclusion, and self-determination to guide all elements of one's direct support work.

• Assessing Interests, Strengths, and Support Needs: By using a variety of strategies to learn about each job seeker, the DSP can become more informed about the job seeker's vocational direction and possible supports needed to achieve their employment goal. Person-centered planning guides best practices in exploring and assessing the vocational interests, abilities, strengths, and challenges of each job seeker receiving supports. Ways to gain insight about each person may include working with job seekers and employers to develop situational assessments and job tryout opportunities. The DSP should also know how to access a job seeker's personal network to identify areas of vocational interest and skill.

• The Job Search and Acquisition Process: People find employment in many ways in today's job market. For many, the tried and true way is the traditional approach, where a job seeker finds a job posting, applies and submits a resume, interviews, and is then hired by the employer. This approach does work for some people. DSPs must understand the details of the application and interview process, and use them in supporting the job seeker when suitable. However, this traditional approach is not appropriate for everybody. Often, job seekers don't fit the criteria sought by employers, or jobs that match a job seeker's interests aren't publicized. Therefore, DSPs must continually expand their skills provide more opportunities for customized employment options. To do this, they must become better connected to the business community and to the job seeker's personal and professional network to identify and obtain jobs. By using multiple strategies to find and acquire jobs for those they support, DSPs increase their ability to make more and better job placements.

• Ongoing Supports: The ongoing role of the employment DSP differs depending upon the needs of each individual and employer. In general, the DSP's role involves promoting an ongoing positive work experience for both the employee and the employer, while promoting respect, self-determination, and natural supports for the employee. A competent DSP may help with on-the-job training, work with the employer to develop accommodations, assist in reducing any problematic workplace behaviors, and arrange transportation, among many other activities. The DSP may provide coaching and assistance to the employee or to the employer, communicating regularly through worksite visits, meetings, or telephone calls.

• Credentialing: Direct support professionals currently face low wages and benefits, limited training, few opportunities to advance, and high turnover. This is also true for direct support professionals providing employment supports. NADSP's Direct Support Professional (DSP) Credentialing Program aims to define and recognize quality direct support, thus raising the status of DSPs.  Learn more about NADSP's Credentialing Program.

At NADSP, we encourage direct support professionals to obtain satisfactory training to provide competent community-based employment supports. NADSP is dedicated to collaborating with other leaders to clearly define the competencies needed to provide effective employment supports. By developing these competencies and achieving a national credential that recognizes their accomplishment, committed and hardworking employment DSPs can advance professionally, while at the same time enhancing the successes of those they support.

If you want to learn more, information on employment DSP competencies can be found at:

NADSP

APSE

The College of Direct Support

The web site was made possible by a grant from the Institute for Economic Empowerment. The Institute for Economic Empowerment conducts research, demonstration and development projects to make significant progress toward the strategic goals of full and fair employment for individuals with severe disabilities, particularly those facing the most significant disability-related barriers to employment.

"AFP is sincerely thankful to the Institute for Economic Empowerment for their generous support," said James Gardner, AFP President and CEO of CQL| The Council on Quality and Leadership. "Our new web site is a critical component in AFP's communication strategy. With this new tool, individuals, state teams, organizations and corporate entities will be able to access resources, post information, and share knowledge quickly and effectively. The Institute's support makes all this possible." In the coming months, as visitors and state teams post more resources, additional resource sections will be added to the site.

California. The CA AFP will build off of the initial work of the State Council on Developmental Disabilities which spent considerable time and resources exploring attitudes and various barriers to improving work opportunities for people with disabilities.

The State Council on Developmental Disabilities sponsored a bill to create an Employment First Policy for California: The proposed bill (AB287) would require the Council to establish a standing Employment First Committee to identify strategies, best practices, and incentives, and to develop an Employment First Policy, the intended outcome of which is a significant increase in the number of people with developmental disabilities who are employed in integrated work, self employment, and microenterprises, and in the number earning wages at or above minimum wage. See the California website at http://www.scdd.ca.gov/Legislation/AB287/Learnabout-AB287_9-09combined.pdf for a reader-friendly review of the bill.