DSPANYS Invited by NYSACRA to attend Annual Legislative Day at the State Capitol

On Tuesday, the Direct Support Professional Alliance of New York State (DSPANYS) were invited by the New York State Association of Community and Residential Agencies (NYSACRA) to introduce themselves at NYSACRA's annual legislative day at the state capitol.

With more than 300 legislators, people with disabilities/family members and provider agency administrators gathering for breakfast, DSPANYS members took this opportunity and stole the show with their message.

The messages below were taken from parts of the script that was developed by DSPANYS members who wanted to explain what Direct Support Professionals do, what their collective vision is and how they want to achieve it.


Sean Delaney:
“Open your minds. Open your hearts. This goes out to staff members who cared from the start.”

Joseph McCrae:
“The staff who care. Direct Support Professionals. We are the heart beat. Pulsing 24 hours a day…in people’s homes and communities, in vocational settings, and day programs…doing more than just keeping a system running…too often we speak of systems. We are ALL ABOUT people.”


DSPANYS Member – Sean Delaney, Special Needs Programs:
“As a Direct Support Professional, and a member of the Direct Support Professional Alliance of New York State, I thank the Governor, OMRDD, and the Legislature for creating the Health Care Enhancement program. This program helps Direct Support Professionals (like me), who are seriously underpaid, afford necessary insurance for ourselves and our family members. I urge the Legislature to continue the Health Care Enhancement program which was included in the Governor’s Budget proposal.”


DSPANYS Member - Darrel Griffith, Orange County AHRC:
“As a Direct Support Professional and a member of the Direct Support Professional Alliance of New York State, I urge the Legislature to reinstate trend factors and Cost of Living Adjustments, omitted from this year’s Executive Budget proposal. Trend factors and Cost of Living Adjustments enable service agencies like the one that I work for and pay living wages to Direct Support Professionals and to keep pace with inflation so we can provide needed services to the individuals we support.”


DSPANYS Member - Yolanda (Peaches) Conquest, Orange County AHRC:
“As a Direct Support Professional and a member of the Direct Support Professional Alliance of New York State, I am thankful for this opportunity to speak to you this morning and I invite the Governor, Legislature, and Commissioner Ritter to continue to listen. Direct Support Professionals have been the frontline of change and are the backbone of today’s system of services to individuals with developmental disabilities. Listen to our voices, our messages, on how to further improve services for the people that we support.




Submitted by:

Joseph Macbeth on behalf of the Direct Support Professional Alliance of New York State

New Jersey DSPs Workforce Development

Exciting things are happening for DSPs in New Jersey.
Nearly 200 DSPs are participating in the piloting of a statewide
Career Path utilizing the College of Direct Support combined with
mentoring and portfolio completion. More than 60 DSPs received
Level 1 Certification in the Fall and were recognized at a statewide
DSP Conference. More good news is that plans are underway for
future statewide implementation of the College of Direct Support; making
its courses and the Career Path available to DSPs statewide.

Please use the following link to read more about exciting initiatives taking place
for DSPs in NJ: http://rwjms2.umdnj.edu/boggscenter/projects/Direct_Support.htm

Colleen McLaughlin
M.Ed.Training and Consultation Specialist

Vital role of DSPs recognized--U.S Senate Resolution 613 Passed

On July 14th 2008 U.S. Senate Resolution 613 was passed to recognize the dedication and vital role of direct support professionals in enhancing the lives of individuals with disabilities of all ages. It went on to declare the week of September 8th 2008 as National Direct Support Professional Recognition Week.

The National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals and its allies did a number of things to commemorate this momentous occasion. State and local NADSP contacts were notified and encouraged to celebrate this event in a way that was right for their local groups. Activities ranged from picnics, to after or before work gatherings, to using this federal recognition of the DSP as reason to make first contact with state policy makers. As your National voice the NADSP collaborated with the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) and other allies to thank our Senators and took the opportunity to share with policy makers how the country can grow to understand and better support the work we do as DSPs.

We share much in common with this provider association and will continue to work in collaboration on key issues like:
· providing competitive wages and benefits for DSPs,
· securing incentives for career development and training
· Promoting the value that people with disabilities and those who support them bring to the community.

We also encourage you to get involved in governmental affairs on the grass roots level. Your state NADSP contact may have something going already so check with them first otherwise our Allies at ANCOR and Arc likely have local activities you can participate in and bring the DSP voice to their efforts. Let’s continue to be the change we want to see happen for DSPs and the people we support.

Mark

DSPs Gain Leadership Skills & Empowerment

Bridget Siljander and Lindsay Short, President and Vice President of NADSP's Minnesota chapter DSPAM (Direct Support Professional Association of MN), were part of the inaugural class of the Direct Care Alliance's Voices Institute at the DeKoven Center in Racine, Wisconsin May 19-24, 2008. Here are Siljander's reflections on the Voices Institute.

The Direct Care Alliance sponsored the Voices Institute to support DSPs in developing their leadership skills and learning about community organizing, coalition-building, fundraising, issue campaigns, and organizational development.

Our class of 25 direct care workers from 12 states came together like a family during this week and formed a strong union that will continue to be supportive as we all go forward as smarter and stronger leaders. We have formed an online community through the networking site, Bebo.com, and a committee of attendees will organize a follow-up web seminar for our class.

I urge any Direct Support Professional who has a desire to contribute to workforce empowerment and development to apply to be a part of next year's Voices Institute. It was a life-changing experience for many in our class, including us. We will take what we learned and apply it in our work for DSPAM and NADSP. There is financial support available, which makes this opportunity very accessible for DSPs. As a Home Health Aide, I was able to attend.

Several of our trainers are affiliated with PHI. Please visit this posting on PHI's blog that was written about the class.

I hope that all of you DSPs who want to do more will contact the Direct Care Alliance by going to their website and letting them know you are interested in being a part of the next Voices Institute. And of course, if you are not already, I encourage you to join your state NADSP chapter.

Best wishes,
Bridget Siljander
bridgetsiljander@yahoo.com

DSW Symposium in Baltimore May 8 & 9, 2008

On May 8 and 9, 2008, I had an opportunity to be a part of the National Symposium on Strengthening the HCBS Direct Service Workforce in Baltimore. What a nice location to participate in an event such as this. The event provided a forum for showcasing best practices in home-and community-based direct service workforce development, highlighted Federal and state workforce initiatives, and disseminated research findings. A primary theme of the event was the importance of addressing workforce issues across age and disability consumer populations.The DSW Resource Center Team organized each detail from start to finish meticulously. Attendees came from all parts of the US. They included self advocates, Direct Support Professionals, Directors, CEOs, and others representing and supporting the direct support workforce.
What about the hotel and it's skywalk to the innerharbor? Despite the rain and overcast weather, it allowed participants to discuss and hear about major direct service workforce issues and highlights present within each of our working environments.
Participating in this Symposium as a member of the DSW symposium planning committee, a NADSP board member, and a longtime direct support professional, I obtained much insight from the sessions I attended. As a DSP, I had an opportunity to share my experiences and highlights and learn from others as well. This in turn will be internalized within my working enterprise in Albuquerque. In addition, I chatted with people visiting us at the National Alliance for Direct Support professionals (NADSP) information booth which offered literature and tools along with great company.

DSPs Growing in Leadership

Guest author of this blog posting is Bridget Siljander, Board president of the NADSP Minnesota chapter DSPAM. Siljander recently had the opportunity to attend the DSW Symposium in Baltimore.

I am a DSP of over 10 years who has recently found a way into leadership and I couldn't be more excited! Not only do I now have an opportunity to address issues of concern in the DSP workforce based primarily on being a witness to them, but I have observed that I am a part of a rapidly-growing national movement to empower DSPs that includes many other strong DSP voices.

It all began when a friend of one of my consumers recruited me to join the Direct Support Professional Association of Minnesota (DSPAM). I now serve as President and Chair of the DSPAM, which has been an incredible experience. Through this role, I will do my best to help develop my state chapter of the NADSP in order to make changes that will benefit DSPs.

I care so much about DSP issues because I have lived them and I know that most other DSPs are in my same position. Since 1997, with a high school diploma, an A.A. degree, and after leaving a Registered Nursing program to gain work experience I felt I lacked, I have worked as a Home Health Aide, Personal Care Attendant, Access Assistant, HHA/PCA Staffer and Supervisor, and Certified Nursing Assistant (in 2 nursing homes). What began as a "job" has become a "career". I thought I would eventually move out of the workforce when I finished my Bachelor's degree. In December 2005, I received my B.A. in Psychology, with honors. The plan to exit the workforce had been discarded because I no longer viewed my work the way I had in the beginning.

My work is my livelihood and I believe deeply in the importance of what I do. Some of my consumers have become my best friends and they know I will always be available, should they need me. I still make my living as a DSP, and with my education completed, my focus has turned toward wanting to make a difference in a broader sense, beyond what I do for my consumers.

By getting involved, I have had many fantastic opportunities. The DSPAM hosted a booth for 2 days and gave a presentation at a major local professional conference. I worked with Lindsay Short (DSP and DSPAM Vice-President) and Kelly Voigt (DSP and MSW intern) to present on the DSPAM as an organization and our recently-concluded statewide survey of DSPs. The morning after, I traveled to Baltimore to attend the Direct Service Workforce Symposium, where I presented on a panel on Worker Empowerment. I am thrilled to be able to improve the skills that are necessary to be an effective DSP leader.

At the DSW Symposium, I discovered that there are a number of DSPs in leadership, and that we are being invited to the table as a valued stakeholder, along with a great variety of other stakeholders, to address the workforce issues that affect our whole communities. I was impressed by the increase in respect for DSPs as a whole group this signified. Now is a perfect time for more DSPs to step up and use their voices and become a part of the growing DSP leadership. Our movement needs momentum, and we must make a call to action to all DSPs to be a part of it. At the DSW Symposium, I also learned that there is a tremendous amount of energy gathering around the workforce issues- from DSPs to researchers to policy-makers to providers to bureaucrats. We need to take full advantage of the opportunities available to us today by getting better organized, by forming partnerships, and by working together to find solutions for the workforce issues. The time for DSPs is now!

New York Initiates a DSP Credentialing Program

The New York Nonprofit Press featured in their latest edition the efforts of New York to provide educational opportunities for their DSPs. NADSP friends NYSACRA and the Mid-Hudson Coalition are mentioned, and NADSP Board members Mark Olson and Regis Obijiski are quoted.

New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) provided $2.4 million in grants to 17 not-for-profit agencies to offer professional development for DSPs. Certainly a great effort on the part of New York State to support and enhance the image and opportunities of their DSPs.

Click here to read the article Direct Support Professionals Get Training and Education.

I am a Direct Support Professional.

I have devoted more than 15 years of my life to supporting, encouraging, and advocating for others. Fortunately during that time, I also learned how to advocate for myself and my colleagues. I have high expectations for people who do direct support, because DSPs literally hold the lives of others in their hands. As a DSP, I am responsible for assisting the people I support in every aspect of their lives from hygiene and ADLs to sexuality and relationships, and everything in between! I need to fill the roles of a bookkeeper, a writer, a CNA, a friend, a family member, a cook, a maid, a therapist, and so many others, yet I am paid less than associates at WalMart! Our society needs to stand up and accept that the people we support are not second-hand citizens. They deserve quality, professional staff to support them to lead productive lives and be active members of their community. Human lives are FAR more important than anything you can buy in a department store. Shouldn't the highly trained DSPs who support these individuals be paid better than sales associates?
Well, I think we should. I also think we need to standardize the role of Direct Support Professionals across the country. We need to insure that the people we support are getting quality and consistent care. It behooves every agency that provides direct support to invest in trained, quality care rather than pay for poorly educated, unmotivated employees. With a country full of qualified, dedicated staff, people with intellectual or other disabilities would no longer be at risk of abuse, neglect, or other mistreatment.
That said, let me qualify my rant by adding, if you hire employees with the right attitude, they can be trained to evolve into successful, quality DSPs. I have seen it happen over and over. I believe I am such a success.
The job requirements for my position are a high school diploma and a valid driving license. These are not exactly "professional" credentials. Probably 90% of the population of Maine (my state) meet these requirements. Yet somehow we face a huge staffing crisis. Why? Well, there is the low pay, but also, not everyone is cut out to do direct support. I like to borrow the old US military motto, "Live the Adventure." You never know what role you will be filling next! That is the joy of supporting people. If you find an employee willing to 'live the adventure' then you need to train them, and train them, and train them. You need to have supervisors who mentor, support, and nurture. You need to have a corporate philosophy that promotes independence and self reliance for the people you support.
I have been very fortunate to work for a not for profit agency that has an estimates 350 employees. Our organization promotes the professional development of DSPs, and has a CEO that actually knows the names of her DSPs. I know that is NOT the reality of most DSPs. I wish it were. I would like to learn more about other DSPS and the philosophies of other agencies.

Policy Pause: DSPs Need Higher Wages

Do you often think that you need to get paid more for the work you do? Most likely you do, and so do Reps. Lois Capps (D-CA) and Lee Terry (R-NE), co-sponsors of H.R. 1279 Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) Fairness and Security Act of 2007.

This bill looks to allow states to secure federal Medicaid dollars in order to increase wages for DSPs.

Introduced March 1, 2007, this bill is currently stuck in committee and needs to be further pursued and debated.

You can find more information about H.R. 1279 on GovTrack

DSP Hip-Hop Song by Sean Delaney

This video is done by Sean Delaney, a DSP in Hudson, New York. Delaney's song "Open Your Eyes" is about people with disabilities and those who support them.

Look for an article about Delaney in the upcoming issue of NADSP's "Frontline Initiative."