The fourteen brief articles in this theme issue all examine challenges in the development of direct support staff working with people who have developmental disabilities. The articles also include the views of direct support providers and people with developmental disabilities themselves, as well as examples of strategies used by provider agencies…

This policy research brief summarizes three studies on training direct service personnel serving people with developmental disabilities, conducted at the Research and Training Center on Residential Services and Community Living, University of Minnesota. The studies provide information on competency-based training, effective training strategies,…

This report was developed to meet the staffing assessment requirements of the Vision 2000 program, an Arkansas effort to support a community-based service system to increase the independence, productivity, and integration of individuals with developmental disabilities. The staffing assessment portion of the program focused on three tasks: (1)…

The preliminary findings of the evaluation of the training program, Creative Problem Solving, are presented. The training was provided through the Blumberg Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Special Education at Indiana State University. Twenty-one state and county child service coordinators participated in the training on a voluntary basis.…

Focusing on creating community partnerships via collaboration to support the growth and development of children and families, this guide is intended to enhance the knowledge and skills Head Start staff need to be full collaborative partners in community efforts to help families develop, nurture their children, and experience success. Following an…

Results for three years of inservice training provided to managers and direct care personnel employed in community, residential, and vocational programs for developmentally disabled/mentally retarded and adults are reported. It is concluded that training was successful, since 1,015 of 1,080 training objectives were completed by trainees at…

This resource guide contains an annotated listing of high quality resources, including videotapes, books, curricula and other materials, that can be used to assist in developing a more diverse and better prepared workforce to serve infants, toddlers, children and families. It includes: (1) materials that can be used to recruit and support…

This project was designed to provide training to personnel serving infants and young children with disabilities and their families. The outcome was increased capacity for state and local service agencies in Oregon, California, and Idaho to deliver quality home-based services for young children (birth through six) with disabilities and their…

The Family Consultant Model (FCT) was designed to provide training to personnel serving infants and young children with disabilities and their families. This was accomplished through the replication of the FCT Model within local programs presently serving infants, toddlers and their families. Training in the FCT model was provided to…

This newsletter theme issue features articles on training of direct service staff working with persons with developmental disabilities in employment, education, and residential settings. The articles examine job training, delivery systems, training models, and implications of current approaches. The newsletter includes three articles presenting…

Youth development lies at the heart of the Workforce Investment Act and the Youth Opportunity Movement. Like employment training programs for adults, employment training programs for youth should focus on acquisition of skills, gainful employment, and productive citizenship. Beyond these three characteristics, it is essential that programs for…