Beacon is proud to announce that we are a new, proud member of the National Association of Direct Support Professionals. This is an important step towards supporting and recognizing the important work our field staff do every day to make a difference in the lives of others! We will be working with our DSP and Home Manager workforce on becoming certified through the NADSP, creating a skilled, ethical, and professional workforce.
The mission of NADSP is to elevate the status of DSPs by improving practice standards, promoting system reform, and advancing their knowledge, skills, and values. The various services and programs offered by NADSP provide professional development opportunities along with the resulting recognition and acknowledgment that these professionals deserve.
We are also working to have our advanced training through our Leadership, Excellence, Advancement, and Promotion (LEAP) program and Home Manager Leveling accredited by the NADSP. This is an exciting endeavor to continue to upskill our workforce across the organization. Beacon believes in fostering growth, learning, and compassion in our workforce, with continued training and certifications to ensure our staff are always set up for success. Our proprietary LEAP program is a self-guided path to continued education and increases in pay and responsibility.
We will be piloting the certification process in our Pennsylvania market first . As we join NADSP, our staff are now able to access the Frontline Initiative which has free resources in webinars, newsletters, and information for DSPs. The Frontline Initiative is a newsletter that has been published since 1996 that covers issues important to Direct Support Professionals and Frontline Supervisors who support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and other disabilities in a variety of community settings. Each edition contains resources, perspectives, and strategies to advance the profession of direct support.
Cassandra Dority, Vice President of Workforce & Development
Beacon Specialized Living’s most valuable asset is our staff. Every day, their compassionate care makes a difference in the lives of the people we support. As an agency, we invest in our staff by providing a robust training and development program. For example, our LEAP program includes advanced training for our DSPs, giving them evidence-based tools and strategies to provide a high level of care with dignity and respect.
Beacon supports the pursuit of the Direct Support Professional as a nationally distinct occupation within the Department of Labor and across the healthcare continuum. Beacon also believes in investing in the professional development of our DSPs. Partnering with the National Association of Direct Support Professionals is another avenue toward both of those goals.
For more information on Beacon’s mission, what we’re all about (those we serve of course!), and how we set our staff up for success, check out more information here. If you’re interested in employment or to start services with our award winning staff, check out our Referrals and Careers pages to get started. Beacon is the premiere Specialized Adult Care provider in several states including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and North Carolina.
