Dear Friends and Colleagues:
In the last half of 2012, more than 1,500 direct support professionals (DSPs) from both state and nonprofit provider agencies met to learn about the newly adopted national code of ethics, and to discuss the challenges and rewards they face in their profession.
The DSP dialogues were undertaken by OPWDD in partnership with the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) with a goal to begin a conversation with DSPs to better support their work and our shared mission of helping people with developmental disabilities live richer lives. The information from those gatherings, now summarized by NADSP in a brief report, will be used to help shape our future efforts on behalf of the direct support profession.
First and foremost, we will continue to support the tenets of the code of ethics through educational campaigns and trainings and utilize them as our professional standard. We also are now implementing a newly developed set of core competencies for DSPs, which directly links to the values of the code.
In addition to those foundational efforts, we will be establishing a Direct Support Professional Advisory Council, representing both the state and nonprofit sectors, which will hold its first meeting on April 30. The council will advise OPWDD leadership on the ongoing challenges and opportunities of the profession.
We are also setting up Regional Centers for Workforce Development, which will be composed of stakeholders who are champions of DSP development. Within these academies without walls, we will create lasting positive culture changes in DSP development in both sectors; advance the core competencies and code of ethics; assist providers; advance regional leading practices in DSP development, promote the sharing of staff development and leadership resources; and gather training modules within each region that will lead to the eventual development of a curriculum for the core competencies.
I want to thank all of the DSPs who participated in our dialogues, and I look forward to our continued collaboration as we commit to supporting the direct support profession and the tenets of our new code: person-centered supports; promoting physical and emotional well-being; integrity and responsibility; confidentiality; justice, fairness and equity; respect; positive relationships; self-determination; and advocacy.
Sincerely,
Commissioner Burke
P.S. Communication is critical to our collective success, and OPWDD’s Facebook page is a great place for individuals, family members, employees, advocates, and other stakeholders to exchange thoughts and ideas. Please feel free to join the conversation.