40 Big Ideas

Summary

Developing the Community Support Skills Standards in the 1990s was important for training direct support professionals to do high-quality work.

In the mid-1990s, a national project was taking shape that explored what it really took to support people with disabilities to thrive in the community. Led by the Human Services Research Institute (HSRI), the project resulted in the publication of the Community Support Skill Standards (CSSS) in 1996. These skill standards were co-created by practitioners, people being supported, their families, and other professionals. It was the first comprehensive identification of the skills and knowledge needed to support people in the community.

This came at a time of change in the disability services field. The longtime practice of sending people with disabilities to institutions (sometimes at birth) was slowing. The emphasis moved to supporting people to stay in their communities or welcoming them back.

In 1985, I (Susan) had been supporting young people with intellectual disability and autism. After years of isolation in institutions, they were able to live ordinary lives and do everyday things. With support, they got to wash their own laundry, make a meal, go to a movie, or meet up with friends.

These services were run by a university that took the time to give me the education and training necessary to provide skilled support. These roles required a broad and deep skill set, but few direct support professionals (DSPs) received robust training or respect. This left people vulnerable in the community and put them at risk of being sent back to institutions. The work lacked visibility, credibility, and respect. Finding a job with high-performing co-workers or the respect of employers wasn’t always easy.

By the mid-1990s, the field was focusing on improving training for DSPs, but trying to get employers to invest in it was difficult. Most people thought DSPs’ work was “common sense.”

When the CSSS came along, it became the root of much of the good work today, focused on the needed skills and professionalism of DSPs. The CSSS provided skill descriptions and ethical guidance for DSPs and their employers to talk about, think about, and use as they strive for excellence. The framework provided a roadmap to create robust education and training programs leading to high-quality person-centered support, national credentialing programs, higher wages, and greater recognition of the importance of the DSP role. These outcomes strengthen the DSP workforce. They help us sustain the vision of helping all people with support needs to live their best lives as members of their community.