In October, disability advocates and allies across the U.S. celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month, supported by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). DirectCourse and the Institute for Community Inclusion… Read more

Direct service professionals are an often-overlooked specialty in need of tolerant, good-natured workers; those who can provide the delicate care needed to keep up with the various challenges that are… Read more

Last month marked the 26th Anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by President H.W. Bush in 1990. A law that ensured that people with disabilities… Read more

Every day, billions of emojis are sent back and forth on social media applications and have come to play a quite significant role in the world of text communication. There has been… Read more

According to Disability Scoop, an estimated 50,000 students with autism graduate from high school each year, entering into the scary realm of adulthood. However, now that they are adults and… Read more

Low wages are a challenge that’s all too familiar for the nation’s direct support workforce, and in Ohio in particular, it’s a problem that is not being overlooked. According to… Read more

According to UN Women, approximately 10% of the world’s population lives with a disability (about 650 million people) and those with disabilities are often among the most marginalized group in… Read more

New initiative designed to boost quality of care, improve patient outcomes Three North Carolina specialty Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) have come together to launch a one-of-a-kind workforce development initiative… Read more

An innovative fellowship in Massachusetts is helping parents, employers, and state legislators to support and empower people with autism. Massachusetts Advocates for Children (MAC), a legal advocacy organization, created the… Read more

To register and learn more about the ACRE supplement: https://www.communityinclusion.org/cesacre/   After a rigorous review process that took nearly a year, The Association of Community Rehabilitation Educators (ACRE) has approved the… Read more

NEW Courses Now Available! We have released two new courses, one in College of Employment Services and the other in College of Recovery and Community Inclusion. Customers of the applicable… Read more

Upcoming Therap Conferences Therap Services, LLC. is a web-based service organization that provides an integrated solution for documentation, reporting and communication needs of agencies providing support to people with developmental… Read more

As the nation celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its many successes, it’s a good time to examine how far we’ve come as a nation in ensuring the… Read more

This past February, The Arc of Minnesota partnered with the University of Minnesota and DirectCourse to make four online curricula available to Minnesota families and people with disabilities absolutely free. The Arc… Read more

In today’s challenging job market, finding opportunities for people with disabilities often seems like an uphill battle. However, job professionals may want to consider another option when helping the person… Read more

If you’re an employment professional seeking new opportunities, one of the fastest growing and most rewarding fields is in rehabilitation counseling. Even more intriguing, rehab counseling is one area where… Read more

As more and more state governments work to build the necessary infrastructure to help make post-secondary education available to people with disabilities, employment professionals should be abreast with all the… Read more

As an employment professional, you know the challenges that face people with disabilities when finding employment. With unemployment rates typically in the double-digits, and with accessibility and discrimination set as two… Read more

For the last decade, Jonathan Keleher has been coming to work every morning at 9:00 on the train, settling in and going about his day as a receptionist and administrative… Read more

For students with disabilities, leaving high school can be fraught with challenges. Like most teenagers, they seek to find their way in a complex world, trying to navigate college, employment,… Read more

Almost two years ago, the Center for Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it was no longer going to support reimbursement for sheltered work services–settings such as workshops where all employees… Read more

In a process that has taken over three decades, the United Nations has created the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), an international human rights treaty that… Read more

March/April 2015 Connections Admin Corner The College of Direct Support was featured in the January 2015 issue of the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS) Newsletter for… Read more

As we start the New Year, the DirectCourse team has been reflecting upon a successful 2014, surrounded by friends, old and new. We invite you to share in our reflection… Read more

For many years now, corporations have been devising hiring strategies to attract and retain more minorities in their workforce. However, too often corporations don’t look at hiring people with disabilities… Read more

Finding work is one of the most challenging goals a person will face in their lifetime—not just landing a job, but one that is challenging and edifying. People with disabilities… Read more

In September, a bipartisan group of four U.S. senators announced that the groundwork had been laid for the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act to become a reality. The… Read more

On July 22, President Obama signed into law the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), a reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act and Rehabilitation Act. For over a decade, Congress… Read more

Veterans returning from military service with disabilities often face an uphill battle when seeking employment. But as an employment specialist, you can prepare yourself to help veterans find satisfying work.… Read more

A presentation from the ICI at UMass Boston. Anya Weber shares a 7 minute presentation about why working in the community is essential for people with disabilities – and how… Read more

It goes without saying that no matter how much you enjoy your job, being paid is a primary motivator for work. Too often, supported employees who do not manage their… Read more

We all know that having a good job has a profound effect on people’s lives. However, job coaches and employment specialists can sometimes focus on getting a person hired –… Read more

This July, Elsevier launched PolicyNavigator, an efficient and flexible management tool that pairs perfectly with Elsevier Performance Manager – the platform on which most DirectCourse users access their content.  PolicyNavigator… Read more

Did you miss our webinar with Nancy Thaler?  Don’t worry – we recorded it. Check it out here: “Future Needs of Caregivers in the Home” with Nancy Thaler, Executive Director of… Read more

Transitioning from high school and into the workplace is always a challenge. But for people with disabilities and their parents, finding work can often be even more complex. Luckily, a… Read more

As an employment specialist, you work hard to try and get the person you support into a job, keep the job, and enjoy the work with as much independence as… Read more

Communication is perhaps the most important element in a person’s life, not to mention in their workplace. Try to imagine being unable to communicate even your most basic needs, much… Read more

DirectCourse is proud to present the recording of its latest webinar, Future Needs of Caregivers in the Home, presented by Nancy Thaler, Executive Director of the National Association of State… Read more

Thank you to all participants in the making of our new video, which is now posted on our website: www.directcourseonline.com Ben Woodworth, Director of Training, Iowa Association of Community Providers Megan Hartwig, Technical… Read more

We are proud to announce that Elsevier’s Customer Support Team is providing training directed to clients using DirectCourse products on a bi-monthly basis, as of this April! Please check your… Read more

Traditionally, vocational rehabilitation (VR), including job development, focused almost exclusively on serving the client with disabilities. VR counselors would assess the individual’s needs, offer training, and help the person find… Read more

You have questions – we have answers! Here are some of the most frequently asked questions that we receive, as well as our responses. How are your curricula developed? Will… Read more

Vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies help people with disabilities to find good jobs. When these agencies were first created, their staff were expected to handle every aspect of this process. However,… Read more

Facebook. Twitter. LinkedIn. As these and other social media websites become more and more essential for the job search, employment professionals must be aware of the benefits—and the challenges—of these… Read more

A recent study by the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center at Vanderbilt University has shown that adults with autism benefit greatly from having employment. The study included 153 adults, ages 19 to… Read more

As an employment specialist, you’re charged with finding the best possible job for the person you support. But often, people have co-occurring issues, including mental health issues, that can make… Read more

After months of concerted effort on the part of disability advocates, on August 27, 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a Final Rule that changed the regulations of Section… Read more

If you enjoyed our post about informational interviews (or if you missed it!), please be sure to view this 5 minute presentation from Anya Weber, Copywriter and Editor at the… Read more

Though the economy is improving, finding a job is often challenging. One of the first steps toward securing a rewarding job for the people you support involves connecting with the… Read more

In a process that began in January 2013, the Social Security Administration (SSA) began eliminating the term “mental retardation” and replacing it with “intellectual disabilities” in its listing of impairments… Read more

Finding a good job is never easy. For people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), this journey may seem even more daunting—both for them, and the employment professionals who support… Read more

When you’re supporting a job seeker to find employment, one of the first steps is to learn about the field he or she is interested in. Informational interviews are a… Read more

Whether the economy’s soaring or times are tough, organizations are always seeking ways to cut costs and stretch their budgets whenever, and wherever, possible. With this in mind, DirectCourse has… Read more

Elsevier/DirectCourse’s College of Employment Services (CES) curriculum is now aligned with the national certification from APSE, the Association for People Supporting Employment 1st, a national organization dedicated to integrated employment… Read more

Elsevier is pleased to announce that it has engaged in a partnership with the Association for Persons in Supported Employment (APSE.) All registered members of APSE are eligibile for a… Read more

Elsevier, a global leader in medical and health information, continues to find ways to make its DirectCourse online curriculum even more accessible to its learning community. We have successfully launched… Read more

DirectCourse…online curricula for life in community A decade ago the College of Direct Support (CDS) online curriculum was a vision fast becoming reality. Its founder Bill Tapp, DirectCourse Vice President,… Read more

The newly designed DirectCourse website, that embraces new branding, was released November 2011. The website that is optimized for organize web searches enables existing and prospective customers and visitors to… Read more

ATLANTA, November 30, 2011 — DirectCourse is anchored by the renowned College of Direct Support (CDS), plus the addition of the College of Employment Services. Elsevier, a world-leading provider of… Read more

The College of Employment Services (CES), Elsevier’s second online training curriculum in its new DirectCourse overbrand developed by the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at University of Massachusetts Boston, will… Read more

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… Read more