News: NADSP and New York State Announce Bonuses for Incumbent Direct Support Professionals and Frontline Supervisors
Earlier this year, we announced that the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) had entered into a three-year contract with the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). Through this agreement, grants have been established to provide New York human service organizations with the opportunity for their employees to pursue NADSP Certification through the NADSP E-Badge Academy. As part of this grant, New York State has allocated funds to NADSP to recognize direct support professionals and frontline supervisors who have already achieved their certifications. We are recognizing these professionals as our incumbent DSPs/FLSs.
New York recognizes that, as the only national credentialing program for direct support professionals, the NADSP E-Badge Academy certification is an significant achievement. and the hard work for these individuals will be recognized through financial bonuses.
“The NYS Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) is proud of our partnership with NADSP to help our direct support professionals earn national certification,” said OPWDD Commissioner Kerri Neifeld. “Our direct support professionals are the frontline of our service system, and this certification provides them with even more tools to apply in their work with people with developmental disabilities. Congratulations to the direct support workers who have previously completed NADSP’s E-Badge Academy, earning their national certification and a bonus. We are proud of the work you do each and every day to support people with developmental disabilities.”
Working with provider organizations across the state, NADSP has been diligently identifying those who have already earned certification. We are pleased to report that more than 160 credentialed direct support professionals and frontline supervisors have been identified. The bonuses start at $500 for a direct support professional who has achieved Level I status. Based on the professional’s progress in the NADSP E-Badge Academy, some may be able to receive up to $2250 in cumulative bonuses. We anticipate that all bonuses will be issued before December 31, 2022.
In addition to these incumbent E-Badge Academy Certified direct support professionals and frontline supervisors, NADSP believes that it is also important to recognize and issue bonuses to those direct support professionals who have achieved NADSP’s portfolio certification. The portfolio certification was the NADSP’s certification process that preceded the E-Badge Academy’s launch in 2019.
“With thanks to funding provided by OPWDD, we are proud and honored to recognize the rigor and diligence of those direct support professionals and frontline supervisors who have already achieved certification prior to this credentialing pilot,” says NADSP President and CEO, Joseph Macbeth. “Through their leadership, they have paved the way for many and they need to be recognized.”
About the NADSP E-Badge Academy
The NADSP E-Badge Academy offers direct support professionals and frontline supervisors the ability to earn national certification through electronic badges through an online platform. These badges demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and values that these professionals utilize every day, recognizing the professional development that might otherwise go unacknowledged. The NADSP E-Badge Academy is competency-based and modeled on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Direct Service Workforce Core Competencies and the NADSP Code of Ethics. This industry-recognized credential is anticipated to professionalize the field by improving the competence and skills of the workforce, and ultimately increasing retention rates.
NADSP E-Badge Academy Earners Of The Month
NADSP E-Badge Earner of the Month: Abby Wright
NADSP E-Badge Earner of the Month: Katie Backus
NADSP E-Badge Earner of the Month: Kelvin Wangari
