A4988

An Act concerning direct support professional core competencies.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. The Legislature finds and declares:

a. Direct support professionals (DSPs) are the primary providers of publicly funded long-term support and services for individuals with disabilities;

b. DSPs provide a broad range of support to individuals with disabilities, including: preparation of meals; helping with medications; assisting with bathing, dressing, and other aspects of daily living; assisting individuals with physical disabilities in accessing their environment; providing transportation to school, work, religious, and recreational activities; facilitating the community participation and inclusion of people with disabilities; assisting with the development of relationships; building skills; medical, behavioral, and mental health supports; and helping with general daily affairs, such as assisting with financial matters, medical appointments, and personal interests;

c. Individuals with disabilities are supported by these professionals in making choices that lead to meaningful, productive lives and these professionals are integral in helping individuals with disabilities live within their communities amongst friends and family, avoiding more costly institutional care;

d. With a growing demand, due to high turnover, persistent vacancies, a shrinking labor pool, competition with other service sectors, and the aging of family caregivers, it is critical that staff be effectively trained and supervised to deliver high quality supports to the intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) community;

e. Currently, the Division of Developmental Disabilities, through its Supports Program and Community Care Program Policy Manuals, mandates that training is required prior to working with individuals or within 90 days of hire. This training focuses heavily on orientation and pre-service topics. There is a minimum requirement of 12 hours of professional development annually, with no specifications to the topics that should be addressed;

f. There is a growing trend in the industry that training rooted in a comprehensive series of skills, knowledge, and ethical standards not only allows DSPs to perform at a level of excellence in their jobs, but also affords the opportunity for professional development and a career path. Training that uses this competency-based approach and is purposefully designed results in the DSP being able to demonstrate skills related to the identified, standard competency set;

g. DSP workforce development programs focused on competency areas have been deemed essential by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the United States Department of Labor;

h. Competency-based training is an avenue to achieve a highly knowledgeable, skilled, and engaged direct support workforce; thereby improving the quality of life for individuals who use direct support services;

i. It is therefore in the best interest of New Jersey to adopt a standardized set of Statewide core competencies designed to strengthen and professionalize the DSP workforce.

2. a. There is established a working group in, but not of, the Department of Human Services which shall be known as the New Jersey Direct Support Professional (DSP) Core Competency Working Group. The purpose of this working group, in partnership with the Division of Developmental Disabilities, shall be to adopt a set of standard Statewide DSP competencies designed to ensure a more consistent level of expertise among DSPs who provide supports in New Jersey’s adult intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) community.

b. The working group shall include 19 members, as follows:

(1) The Commissioner of Human Services, or the commissioner’s designee, and the Director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities, or the director’s designee, who both shall serve ex officio; and

(2) 17 public members appointed by the Commissioner of Human Services who shall include: one representative each from the Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities, the Arc of New Jersey, the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities, the Alliance for the Betterment of Citizens with Disabilities, the New Jersey Association of Community Providers, Autism New Jersey, the Family Support Coalition of New Jersey, the Family Resource Network, the New Jersey Statewide Self-Advocacy Network, the New Jersey Community College Consortium, and the Statewide Regional Family Support Planning Councils; and two individuals currently employed as DSPs, two individuals who are family members of individuals within the I/DD community who are supported by DSPs, and two individuals within the I/DD community who are supported by DSPs.

c. The members of the group, at a minimum, shall:

(1) compile nationally recognized DSP and frontline supervisor competency sets, as well as best practices in DSP training as implemented by industry-recognized entities;

(2) investigate National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals accredited training programs and, as needed, obtain information about how to get new programs accredited;

(3) perform a Statewide survey of training opportunities offered at organizations that provide community services to adults with I/DD and employ DSPs and frontline supervisors, and identify any gaps in that training to support a knowledgeable and skilled direct support workforce;

(4) adopt, through a collaborative process with stakeholders, the New Jersey DSP Core Competency Standards targeted to the needs of the State’s I/DD system and outlining the comprehensive series of skill, knowledge, and ethical standards that DSPs working in the State must master;

(5) develop evaluation and documentation tools for use by frontline supervisors and other facility managers to support DSPs in meeting the New Jersey DSP Core Competency Standards; and

(6) identify and compile an online library of in-person and virtual learning resources for each area of the New Jersey DSP Core Competency Standards.

d. The working group shall organize as soon as practicable following the appointment of its members. The Commissioner of Human Services shall select a public member of the group to serve as co-chair, alongside the Director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities, or the director’s designee. The co-chairpersons shall appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the working group.

(1) The public members shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties and within the limits of funds available to the working group.

(2) The working group shall be entitled to the assistance and services of the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as it may require and as may be available for its purposes. The Department of Human Services shall provide staff support to the working group.

e. Upon completion of the tasks outlined in subsection c. of this section, the working group shall report to the Governor and the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), a summary of its actions, as well as recommendations regarding the: (1) adoption of the New Jersey Core Competency Standards and the implementation of a State DSP Certificate or credentialing process; (2) adoption of a Front Line Supervisor Core Competency Set; and (3) continuation of the working group beyond the scope of this act in order to achieve these goals.

3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire upon the submission of the report pursuant to subsection e. of section 2 of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes the New Jersey Direct Support Professional (DSP) Core Competency Working Group, an in but not of entity in the Department of Human Services (DHS). The purpose of this working group, in partnership with the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) in the DHS, is to adopt a set of standard Statewide DSP competencies designed to ensure a more consistent level of expertise among DSPs who provide supports in New Jersey’s adult intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) community.

DSPs are the primary providers of publicly funded long-term support and services for individuals with disabilities. Individuals with disabilities are supported by these professionals in making choices that lead to meaningful, productive lives and these professionals are integral in helping individuals with disabilities live within their communities amongst friends and family, avoiding more costly institutional care.

With a growing demand, due to high turnover, persistent vacancies, a shrinking labor pool, competition with other service sectors, and the aging of family caregivers, it is critical that staff be effectively trained and supervised to deliver high quality supports to the I/DD community. Training that uses a competency-based approach is purposefully designed to result in the DSP being able to demonstrate skills related to the identified, standard competency set. Competency-based training is an avenue to achieve a highly knowledgeable, skilled, and engaged workforce, resulting in a higher quality of life for individuals who use direct support services.

Under the bill, the working group is to include 19 members, as follows:

1) The Commissioner of Human Services, or the commissioner’s designee, and the Director of the Division of DDD, or the director’s designee, who both shall serve ex officio; and

2) 17 public members appointed by the Commissioner of Human Services who shall include: one representative each from the Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities, the Arc of New Jersey, the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities, the Alliance for the Betterment of Citizens with Disabilities, the New Jersey Association of Community Providers, Autism New Jersey, the Family Support Coalition of New Jersey, the Family Resource Network, the New Jersey Statewide Self-Advocacy Network, the New Jersey Community College Consortium, and the Statewide Regional Family Support Planning Councils; and two individuals currently employed as DSPs, two individuals who are family members of individuals within the I/DD community who are supported by DSPs, and two individuals within the I/DD community who are supported by DSPs.

The members of the group, at a minimum, are directed to:

1) compile nationally recognized DSP and frontline supervisor competency sets, as well as best practices in DSP training as implemented by industry-recognized entities;

2) investigate National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals accredited training programs and, as needed, obtain information about how to get new programs accredited;

3) perform a Statewide survey of training opportunities offered at organizations that provide community services to adults with I/DD and employ DSPs and frontline supervisors, and identify any gaps in that training to support a knowledgeable and skilled direct support workforce;

4) adopt, through a collaborative process with stakeholders, the New Jersey DSP Core Competency Standards targeted to the needs of the State’s I/DD system and outlining the comprehensive series of skill, knowledge, and ethical standards that DSPs working in the State must master;

5) develop evaluation and documentation tools for use by frontline supervisors and other facility managers to support DSPs in meeting the New Jersey DSP Core Competency Standards; and

6) identify and compile an online library of in-person and virtual learning resources for each area of the New Jersey DSP Core Competency Standards.

The bill directs the working group to organize as soon as practicable following the appointment of its members. The Commissioner of Human Services is to select a public member of the group to serve as co-chair, alongside the Director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities, or the director’s designee. The bill directs the co-chairpersons to appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the working group.

The public members are to serve without compensation, but are to be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties and within the limits of funds available to the working group. Furthermore, the working group is to be entitled to the assistance and services of the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as it may require and as may be available for its purposes. The Department of Human Services is required to provide staff support to the working group.

Upon completion of the tasks outlined in the bill, the working group is required to report to the Governor and the Legislature a summary of its actions, as well as recommendations regarding the: (1) adoption of the New Jersey Core Competency Standards and the implementation of a State DSP Certificate or credentialing process; (2) adoption of a Front Line Supervisor Core Competency Set; and (3) continuation of the working group beyond the scope of this act in order to achieve these goals.

Establishes New Jersey Direct Support Professional Core Competency Working Group.