Actions and Accomplishments

• 2006 - Currently, there are 28 NADSP affiliates in 19 states across the U.S. NADSP state affiliates are direct support advocacy groups or individuals interested in direct support issues, who provide NADSP with information on what's important to DSP's in their area. Affiliates also interact with other NADSP members, learning about new ideas and strategies they can use in their home states to continue advocating for direct support issues. Find NADSP affiliates.
  
  
• 2005 - NADSP became incorporated as a 501(c)6 non profit organization which allows the association to become a tax exempt membership organization. While NADSP is not allowed to do fund-raising, it can be involved in lobbying efforts. At some point in the future, NADSP may incorporate a Foundation (501 (c(3)) for purposes of fund-raising.
  
  
• 2005 The NADSP Board of Directors established the NADSP Community Service Award. This award is given at the discretion of the NADSP Board of Directors in recognition of significant contributions made to NADSP by an NADSP member. This first award was given on September 20, 2005 to Traci LaLiberte, of the Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota.
  
  
• 2003 - NADSP was one of eleven founding organizations of the Alliance for Full Participation (AFP). The goal of the AFP is "Full realization of the vision of people with developmental disabilities living meaningful, productive and personally satisfying lives in their community of choice" (http://www.affpnet.org/public/ ). This exciting collaboration has brought together thousands of people and organizations committed to the successful inclusion of people with developmental disabilities into the mainstream of American life.
  
  
• 2002 - NADSP, in partnership with the Research and Training Center on Community Living (RTC/CL) at the University of Minnesota, established the Moving Mountains Award. The Moving Mountains Awards are presented to organizations and agencies that have demonstrated best practice in direct support workforce development. Nominations are solicited nationally and submissions are reviewed by a panel of NADSP members. Selection criteria are based on the mission and five goals of the NADSP.
  
  
• 2001 - NADSP raised the national profile of Direct Support and introduced professional standards in partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor. Working closely with the Department of Labor, NADSP, crafted apprenticeship standards aligned with the Community Support Skill Standards and rallied national groups to endorse these guidelines. The standards were issued by the Department of Labor in 2001. The standards have been used by employers and state's to provide the backbone for professional certification programs.
  
  
• 2001 - NADSP developed the Code of Ethics to bring professionalism to the field of direct support. Over a period of two years DSP's from around the country attended focus groups to give their input on the ethics they thought direct support professionals had to have. They identified nine broad areas. These nine areas were used to create the framework for the Code of Ethics. A national group of DSPs and other disability advocates came together again to further develop and finalize the Code of Ethics. Now widely disseminated, the code offers direct support professionals, individuals with disabilities, service organizations and family members a standard of conduct and professionalism for the direct support workforce.