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Midwest Leadership Institute

The University of Delaware is bringing its week-long intensive program to the Midwest to assist leaders to transform supports for people with IDD. April 7-12, in Kansas City, Missouri, the Midwest Leadership Institute offers an opportunity for Midwest leaders to learn from each other, leading experts, self-advocates, and their families. Applications are due March 8!

The outcomes of the Midwest Leadership Institute include:

NCI Releases 2017 Staff Stability Survey Report on DSP Workforce and Working Conditions

Direct support professionals play a crucial role in the system that supports community life for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Yet, this workforce experiences high rates of instability. Increasingly high turnover and vacancy rates are being described by community providers as the greatest threat to sustaining community services. National Core Indicators released its latest report on employment and working conditions for the DSP workforce: The 2017 Staff Stability Report. It features the results of a survey that was run in 19 states and DC, covering more than 3,300 provider agencies. The results of this survey can provide states with critical information to examine the DSP workforce and address the workforce experience.  

Key findings include:

• 35% of DSPs employed as of December 31, 2017 were relatively new to their provider agency, having been employed there a year or less.
• 50% of the DSPs who left their positions in 2017 had been with the provider agency for less than a year.
• Average turnover rate for DSPs in 2017 ranged by state from 24.4% to 68.8%. The weighted average across states was 43.8%.
• Across all states, service types, and settings, DSPs received a median hourly wage of $12.09.

New Federal Initiative Launched to Improve Person-Centered Practice

On January 7, the Administration for Community Living and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced the launch of the National Center on Advancing Person-Centered Practices and Systems (NCAPPS), administered by the Human Services Research Institute (HSRI).

During the past 30 years, systems for people with disabilities and older adults with long-term service and support needs have generally shifted to embrace person-centered principles, premised on the belief that people should have the authority to define and pursue their own vision of a good life. Yet, the degree to which these systems have fully adopted person-centered practices varies, and many continue to grapple with how to effectively implement them.

The goal of NCAPPS is to promote systems change that makes person-centered principles not just an aspiration, but a reality in the lives of people who require services and supports across the lifespan. NCAPPS will assist states, tribes, and territories to transform their long-term care service and support systems to implement U.S. Department of Health and Human Services policy on person-centered thinking, planning, and practices. It will support a range of person-centered thinking, planning, and practices, regardless of funding source. Activities will include providing technical assistance to states, tribes, and territories; establishing communities of practice to promote best practices; hosting educational webinars; and creating a national clearinghouse of resources to support person-centered practice.

NCAPPS is funded by the Administration for Community Living and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and administered by the Human Services Research Institute (HSRI). Engagement of people with lived experience will be at the heart of all NCAPPS activities. A Person-Centered Advisory and Leadership Group composed of national experts with lived experience receiving long-term services and supports will oversee and contribute to all aspects of NCAPPS. HSRI will be partnering with national organizations to ensure the work is relevant and effective, including:

• National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA)
• National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD)
• National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disability Services (NASDDDS)
• National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD)
• National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Directors (NACBHDD)
• National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD)

Technical assistance applications are available now.

States, tribes, and territories can apply for technical assistance through an application available online.  

The deadline for technical assistance applications is February 12, 2019. Completed applications should be submitted to NCAPPS@acl.hhs.gov.

For more information:

Additional information about NCAPPS is in this NCAPPS overview document.

Join the NCAPPS launch webinar on January 29 at 3:00 - 4:30 pm EST to learn more about NCAPPS and to have your questions answered regarding technical assistance opportunities. Register for the webinar.

To learn more, contact NCAPPS@acl.hhs.gov.

National Leadership Institute on Developmental Disabilities - Winter 2019

Applications for the University of Delaware's National Leadership Institute on Developmental Disabilities, to be held this winter (Jan. 27 – Feb. 1, 2019) will be accepted through Dec. 5. Applications completed by Nov. 19 are eligible for an early-bird rate!

This week-long, intensive leadership development program is designed for current executive-level leaders and emerging leaders. Participants may work in areas of management or program leadership in organizations that provide, advocate for, or fund supports for people with intellectual/developmental disabilities and their families.

NCI Data Brief: Working in the Community - Update 3

In their latest data brief, the NCI team collaborated once again with ThinkWork at the Institute for Community Inclusion to examine employment outcomes for people with IDD. According to the latest NCI data, 20.9% of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are in integrated community jobs—but the rate varies widely by state, from a low of 7.7% to a high of 47.8%.