The Emerging Roles and Changing Expectations of the Direct Support Workforce

This opening session offers a chance to reflect on the evolving roles and expectations of Direct Support Professionals. Many of these changes are driven by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and its Federal Home and Community-Based Services Community Rule. This is a radical departure from which we are accustomed and will ultimately create an emphasis on ‘personal autonomy’, greater access to ‘integrated settings’ and helping people to make ‘informed choices’. The focus of this session addresses one important piece of the CMS Rule; how do we support people with disabilities to make informed decisions? What is the direct support professional’s role in this process? What are the workforce demographics and projections to fulfill these expectations? Do direct support professionals currently possess the tools, resources and skills to uphold this responsibility?

1.5 HR Certification Institute CEUs

1.5 NASW CEUs (LSW)

This program is valid for 1.5 PDCs for the SHRM-CP^SM or SHRM-SCP^SM