New York

Project Title: Ensuring Stability and Quality in New York State’s Direct Support Workforce

New York State seeks technical assistance in order to assess the efficacy of a broad range of direct support worker staff development, curricula, and training efforts currently underway in the State to address the following questions: Should all present efforts continue? If so, how should they best be coordinated? If not, which have proven to be the most beneficial in terms of the outcomes the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD), consumers and families, and the nonprofit sector are seeking? Which should New York invest heavily in for the future?

New York State also wishes to develop a cohesive framework for career development and career advancement for direct support workers, incorporating concepts of mentoring, apprenticeships, portfolio review, credentialing, and career ladders, and to ensure meeting the unique job design, skill acquisition, mentoring, and oversight needs of direct support workers who work for self-determining individuals.

The National Direct Service Workforce Resource Center will provide New York with intensive technical assistance to assess what’s working and what’s not working within New York’s current programs and research best practices from other states in order to produce a series of policy briefs/white papers that include specific recommendations for how to invest already allocated funds and which programs to invest in for the future.

OMRDD will convene an advisory group made up of representatives from current DSW intitiatives, provider associations, self-advocates, and parents beginning in September 2006.The advisory group will look at a list of ongoing programs, available outcome data, and program and outcome data from other states in order to reach an evidence-based consensus on where to invest future funds.The DSW Resource Center will support the advisory group by researching:

• Best practices, regarding content, curricula, media, distance learning, didactic process, and consumer impact and producing evidence-based analysis of outcome data, including information about what drove program choices in a given state and how the state motivated participation in the initiative.
• Models for recruitment, retention, and career advancement. Which models produce the desired outcomes in longevity, job satisfaction, and service quality? How are these outcomes benchmarked and measured? Producing evidence-based analysis of outcome data, including information about what drove program choices in a given state and how the state motivated participation in the initiative.
• Models for, job design, training, motivation, and supervision of direct support workers employed by self-directing individuals, including materials/toolkits that New York can adapt and provide to consumers on hiring and managing a direct service worker.

Population Served: Developmental Disabilities

For More Information Contact:

Gary Lind

Director of Policy, Planning and Individualized Initiatives

OMRDD, 44 Holland Ave., AlbanyNY12229

518-473-9697 (ph)

518-473-0054 (fax)

gary.lind@omr.state.ny.us