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.

Many of the past winners of this award use CDS as their curriculum of choice to develop and train their respective workforces. Organizations that apply will be able to show in detail how their direct support workforce practices and philosophy align with the goals of the NADSP to better support those persons supported.

RTC and the NADSP encourage organizations to highlight their unique and creative initiatives that contribute to improving workforce outcomes for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) and their employers. Applications from statewide/regional initiatives, local organizations, and individual people are welcomed. Up to two awards are given each year. This year’s award winners will be honored at a national conference in 2012.

These nominations are part of a national research project conducted by the RTC, which will do in-depth case studies describing the characteristics, objectives, and outcomes of best practice initiatives designed to improve competence, status, compensation, and stability of direct support staff. These case studies will be shared with provider agencies, policy makers, and interested stakeholder groups in a number of ways, including: on the RTC and NADSP websites, as practical illustrations in RTC/NADSP publications and presentations, and in a final publication on best practice.

Nominated programs/initiatives can be small (a single program) or large (statewide) in scope and can involve few or many DSPs. Organizations that have applied previously but were not selected are invited and encouraged to re-submit a nomination for this year’s competition.

Click here to download, complete and submit the 2012 Moving Mountains nomination form.