New Horizons Resources, Inc. (NHR) is a not-for-profit agency providing supports to children and adults with developmental disabilities in the Hudson Valley Region of New York State. Our mission is to support people to have fulfilling lives within their local communities by establishing a home, belonging, self determination, productivity and life- long learning.
Nominations are now being accepted for the prestigious 2012 Moving Mountains Awards that recognize and honor organizations using best practices in direct support staff workforce development.
The deadline for nominations is November 30, 2011.
These annual awards are sponsored by the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) and the Research and Training Center (RTC) at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration, which authors the Elsevier/College of Direct Support (CDS) curriculum.
The partnership between OHI in Maine and Elsevier/College of Direct Support (CDS) began in March 2010. Bonnie-Jean Brooks, the founder and CEO of this 33-year-old agency says, “CDS completely changed the culture and approach to training its 260 Direct Support Professionals that support approximately 600 people.”
“There is no question that CDS has revolutionized training at OHI. It has also caused us to better understand learning styles and, as a result, we have made some changes in our hiring process,” Brooks explained. “We have learned that the world requires people in our field to be ‘wired’ — to be able to use technology. Some people are not, sadly. Since the inception of CDS in our life we have gone on to do other technology-based training and our staff has been and is extremely receptive to it – no doubt because of CDS breaking the barrier for us!”
Brooks authored this Partner Profile that tells the success story of OHI and the College of Direct Support curriculum. Click HERE to read the Partner Profile.
The University of Minnesota’s Research and Training Center of Community Living, authors of the College Of Direct Support curriculum and Elsevier are pleased to announce the release of a new Film for Thought course, Breaking Shells: Art and Steve. This course is now available for Learning Administrators to incorporate into the learner’s lesson plan by creating a module and assigning to learners.
This Film for Thought course, “Breaking the Shells”, is a documentary of two men who are self-advocates. The men call themselves “The Messengers.” This is because they teach others about personal rights. The Messengers explain how they became leaders in their own person-centered planning process. These two men have gained control in their lives by using this process. They share their message so that others can develop the same skills to plan for their lives. The Messengers believe that this process supports individual choice and freedom. They understand that direct support professionals play an important role in achieving this vision. You will join The Messengers as they spread their message to stakeholders.
Elsevier’s product line of online training curricula under the brand of DirectCourse will officially launch in November, along with the introduction of its second curriculum – the College of Employment Services (CES). Both will be rolled out during the Alliance for Full Participation Conference Nov. 17-19 in Washington, D.C.
DirectCourse is an expanding lineup of online curricula to train professionals who support people with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities, as well as older adults. Its three-pronged approach is to Educate, Enrich and Inspire people to find their way to a better life through better supports provided by a trained workforce educated and enriched by DirectCourse content.