Kansans Mobilizing for Direct Support Workforce Change

Individual Support Systems, Inc.
3615 SW 29th St, Suite 201
Topeka, KS 66614

February 8, 2007

In Attendance: Deena Baker, Bonnie Duden, Sarah Emrick, Julie Gusman, Dan Hermreck. Bobbie Keller, Sharon Kimbrough. Monty King, Pattie Knauff, Gary Merklein, Mark Newbold, Kathy Olson, Kathy Stiffler, Kelly Smith, Mary Jo Temple, Kathy Walter

The CDS has been added to the SRS base budget request for next year. We thus expect that funding is in place for one additional year. Undoubtedly the advocacy of KMFC members contributed to this success.

Member Updates and Announcements

• Deena and Sarah reported that CCL has trained administrators and is ready to start training. Thanks also for the great cookies for the meeting!
• Bonnie provided information about an upcoming national workforce conference Sponsored by the Department of Labor and encouraged members to attend and possibly present. Workforce Innovations 2007: Beyond Boundaries will explore ways in which key partners, including business, economic development, education and workforce systems, can collaborate and innovate to break down boundaries and create a competitive advantage.

Workforce Innovations 2007
July 17-19, 2007
Kansas City (MO) Convention Center
http://www.workforceinnovations.org/

• Julie and Kathy report that they have developed an incentive training program for DSPs and have trained administrators.
• Dan has TARC up and running and is also supporting individuals who self-direct in the CDDO.
• Bobbie and Gary are getting ready to start another Ad Astra group. Gary is serving as administrator for Goldenwest.
• Sharon and Kathy report another Ad Astra class coming up and a substantial reduction in turnover.
• Monty is trained and planning classes. A room for computer training is set up.
• Pattie reported that InterHab will sponsor a workforce conference related to the DSP workforce in mid-July. The dates have not been confirmed at this time (may be July 12th and 13th). KMFC should have a presence there.
• Kathy Olson is very busy with CDS.
• Kelly has a new position and is working with people who self-direct. She will consider how CDS training could be incorporated. Kathy will provide information.

Research 
Kathy Stiffler is exploring Direct Support Staff Perception of Frontline Supervisors Skill:Correlation with Organizational Commitment and Intent to Leave in her dissertation. She distributed a sample questionnaire. She hopes that some KMFC organizations will participate. All information will be confidential and will not identify individuals or facilities. Kathy will share her results with participating organizations and with KMFC.  It is hoped that Kathy will have approval to begin within a month, look for her to contact you.

Current Use of CDS
CDS became available in January. Kathy Olson became a trained administrator on January 3, 2007. Since that time use has been growing rapidly. Users represent service providers, both large and those with limited licenses. Payroll agencies, foster parents, parents, respite providers, Parsons State Hospital, and KCSL are exploring use.
By the end of January there were trained administrators in 21 Kansas organizations. More were added in February.  Typically, the administrator works with the management team to review lessons before implementation decisions are made and DSP training begins.

CDS Use In Kansas

CDS Use

* does not include ISS and Starkey

Marketing seems to be effective. Kathy is training as fast as she can with organizations calling daily for access.

Marketing and Promoting Use Among Families
Families and those who self-direct can access CDS. A couple of families have started.

• It was suggested that we encourage service providers to put a brief piece in newsletters. Sarah and Sharon, along with Kathys Walter, Olson, and Stiffler will develop and review this.
• It was agreed that local assistance will be provided in enrolling family learners. They certainly have the option of being enrolled by the state administrator but it was felt that the connection to the local CDDO is valuable and more personal.
• Families Together and the Arc should also be encouraged to disseminate information about CDS to families. Kathy Olson will forward information to these organizations. Kelly will check with Barb about putting something in the Arc newsletter.

Plans to secure ongoing funding
We were elated to learn that CDS is expected to be funded in the next year. We are unsure as to the amount that was requested. Was it level funded? Is this sufficient to meet our needs in the next year?

• Amy Swanson will follow up to get more information on funding level. She is also exploring other ways that this could be funded through Medicaid.
• Our task now is to prove that the funding is yielding the results we want in terms of increased training, improved quality of care, improved quality of life, increased DSP satisfaction and growth and improved retention.

Evaluation
Mark, Mary Jo, Kathy O, Amy and Gary met via conference call to review evaluation possibilities. The results of that meeting and the input of KMFC is as follows:

We need to show

• Number of individuals using CDS
• Number of lessons completed
• Number of facilities
• Use geographically across all of Kansas
• Use by different populations (Limited license, Service Providers, Families, etc.)

• This data will be available from the CDS Summary Report available on the web and from our records

Beyond that need to show that it has beneficial effects on the

• Quality of services
• Quality of life
• DSP professional development
• Cost of training
• Retention

It is difficult to gather this information on a standard tool such as KLO or turnover due to the large number of variables that may be present and the challenge of linking any one staff with a consumer. We will gather case examples that highlight various benefits. These may be examples of quality of life improvements; examples of how we have saved money buy reducing travel or overtime; improved accessibility by getting training to night or weekend staff; increased DSP  commitment and personal growth, etc.

• Each service provider will bring two examples to the next meeting
• Kathy will gather other examples as she becomes aware of them
• Existing reviews we have will be examined along with summaries that have been written by TARC, Starkey, and others.

The Outcome Survey on the CDS site was reviewed and it was agreed that it would be a valuable asset to show benefits, and satisfaction.

• Administrators will be asked to assign the survey to DSPs after completing training.

Our annual report will include a summary of all of the above evaluations and be comprehensive. It was suggested that we also condense this information into a marketing brochure for CDS.

Members Share Implementation Challenges and Strategies (What members shared)
Equipment and Space

• Banks, colleges, and businesses are great sources of computers. Board members have been very effective. A board member donated several to CCL.
• Space is a challenge. Even a small storage room can work.
• When everal computers are in the same room use headphones. The Dollar Store is a good source for inexpensive headphones.

Encouraging Use

• KETCH set up a computer lab for supervisors for a day to allow them to test CDS and assess the training for themselves.
• Incentives- One organization is offering gift certificates at a local store for completion of lessons and a small pay raise after the completion of several lessons. This encourages training and allows learners to assume some control for their learning.
• Orientation is helpful. It is simple but even some frequent computer users have had problems. Going through an introduction to a lesson is a good way to introduce a learner to the system
• Some learners are intimidated by CDS when it is used in orientation. With a little help they usually master it. When reading is a problem, a learner may have some challenges. Reading is generally a requirement for the job. A non-reader may need assistance in several aspects of the job.
• ISS uses CDS for orientation. A trainer is available to provide assistance. Some new employees are initially intimidated but most do well.
• The Quick Reference for Learners on the administrators homepage is a good reference for learners.
• The Successful Foundations will soon be on the CDS website by March. Kathy will let you know when this planning manual is available.

Other Challenges

• Need to remember that when individual modules are made by agencies that they need to be edited to assure that the test requirements remain. The default for a new module allows the individual to test out with a score of 80%.

Technical Problem/Issue

• Pretest does not direct learner to return to lesson. Kathy Olson will forward this suggestion to CDS.

Sharing Strategies Across Kansas - Information about use and effective implementation strategies.

• It is helpful to share strategies. Kathy noted that there is $500 in the budget for members to travel to market and help others implement CDS. If KMFC members would like to host a regional meeting that would be a possibility. It was not seen as a need at this time.
• Communication via e-mail or website is helpful. With the switch to on line training, e-mail communication is a good fit.
• We may want to consider a face-to-face meeting at the InterHab workforce conference in July.

Community Colleges, State Credential, and Apprenticeship and Career Ladder
In the past when AIDD was taught and staff received community college credit for training it did build self-esteem. It would be nice to offer college credit.

The University of Minnesota no longer offers college credit for the CDS. They had a course available but no one completed it during the first year so they removed it due to lack of interest.

A challenge is to get courses to articulate to 4-year institutions and build into a degree program. This has proven to be difficult since many 4-year programs prefer to teach this type of content in an upper division course.

A second challenge is cost.  It is not practical for DSP to pay tuition for training that they could get free on-the-job and which may not lead to career advancement. A previous partnership during the time when AIDD was taught no longer allows free tuition. Bonnie noted that apprenticeship programs can be eligible for Carl Perkins funding through community colleges. This should be explored.

Some community colleges may be interested in offering credit. Could CDS be used for electives? A representative from the community college system should be invited to our meetings (we lost our representative). We want input across community colleges so someone who represents more than local interests would be preferable.

Parsons State Hospital is interested in CDS. If they use CDS as part of their training requirements for the certificate their employees get through Labette Community College. PSH&TC employees also can get tuition assistance toward an AS degree. This could be a start. It is believed that KNI has similar DSP training requirements and offers tuition assistance for classes at Washburn. It is possible that CDS could be built into a BAS degree at Washburn. Training programs at Washburn have been done using distance education. Kathy will begin exploring this option.

We need to look at how we could build a career lattice or ladder for DSPs. Are there similar disability groups that DSPs could provide work opportunities? The challenge is the CNA and CMA requirements for some that are relatively inflexible. There may be some opportunities. We need to explore this.

Year- 4 data on recruitment and retention?

Kathy reported that only three agencies provided turnover data. In discussion it was determined that it is difficult to get this data in the form we are seeking, it may not be representative of the larger DSP picture, and thus will not be collected.  However, on example is of particular interest.

• ISS has shown a continuing reduction in turnover. Reductions have been seen each year however Sharon reported that ISS had 12.8% during the last year. This a reduction from 31% in the previous year. Undoubtedly there are many variables at work but ISS has used CDS as a major component in training during the last year.

Ad Astra State Council

• The Ad Astra State Council met in Wichita on January 30th  and solidified the 18-month related instruction schedule for CDS courses used in Ad Astra.
• KMFC members were invited to attend the workgroup meeting following this meeting.
• Workforce centers may benefit from Realistic Job Preview -Kathy will explore the cost.

Other

• Dan will review website for KADSP.
• Learner Management and Administrative Functions

Most agencies have not used the learner management systems of CDS. Larger organizations have other systems in place and may not benefit from the additional cost. Midsize organizations may benefit. Kathy will get information from CDS to share with others who may benefit.

• Bill Tapp offered to come to Kansas in April if we needed him. The group saw no need at this time.

Next meeting will be in Wichita on May 17th from 10-3.

• Kathy Walter will find a location, with convenient parking. It was suggested that we have barbeque catered by Two Brothers for lunch.

Adjourn general meeting - 3:00 p.m.
           
Ad Astra State Council
Ad Astra State Council continued meeting to develop and refine The Ad Astra Program Manual. This manual will guide organizations through the planning and implementation of the apprenticeship program. It will be completed later this year. Next meeting of this group is in Wichita in March. Organizations who are interested in enrolling persons in the apprenticeship program are encouraged to contact Kathy Olson for an update.