ANALYSIS OF NONFORMAL TRAINING FOR PERSONNEL WORKING
IN THE FIELD OF DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
IN MINNESOTA: 1981-1982
Adult education is needed to help us to change--to acquire knowledge and understandings in order to help us to mature. Careful planning can set the conditions for change. It is difficult to name a more demanding task. Yet much of the planning by adult education agencies is haphazard. Often the planning is the last-minute, stopgap kind of effort summed up in the phrase "Whom can we get to talk to our group at the next meeting?" If we are to take the task of planning our adult education seriously, we will need a
systematic approach. (Bergevin, Morris, & Smith, 1963, p. 8)
I. INTRODUCTION
This paper is the first of a three part series to address the overall requirement set forth in the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act (P.L. 95_602) 1978,
which states:
The (State) plan (for developmental disabilities) must provide for . . . an assessment of the adequacy of the skill level of professionals and paraprofessionals serving persons with developmental disabilities in the State and the adequacy of the State programs and plans supporting training of such professionals and paraprofessionals in maintaining the quality of services provided to persons with developmental disabilities in the State . . . . (42 USC 6009)
The focus of this study is on nonformal training activities taking place in Minnesota for personnel working with people with developmental disabilities. Nonformal training refers to those educational experiences such as conferences, workshops, seminars, in-service training, or courses that take place outside of the traditional (formal) postsecondary institutions (e.g., colleges, universities, vocational schools) and are sponsored by professional organizations, governmental agencies, service agencies, or continuing
education programs. Nonformal training events are usually designed to meet the individual and collective needs and interests of people who share similar job
responsibilities ,
DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES PROGRAM l DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
201 CAPITOL SQUARE BLDG. Q 550 CEDAR STREET ST PAUL,MN 55101
612/296-4018
.
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work settings, and/or clientele. Nonformal training may or may not have linkage with the formal educational sector, e.g., arrangements for issuance of credits andlor certification.
II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Inevitably, when the quality of human service programs is evaluated, a major
factor is the competency of the personnel. A review of the literature indicates that nonformal training efforts have been fragmented, uncoordinated, piecemeal, and reactive to crises and events as opposed to being proactive, thoughtfully planned, organized, and sequenced in scale with current developmental and behavioral technology.
According to a national study conducted by the New Careers Training Laboratory
at the City University of New York, "we are confronted with a promise--performance gap . . . . Where expectations have been raised and commitments have been made to improve the quality and variety of services available to meet the diverse needs of persons with developmental disabilities, these new and improved services must be provided within budgetary constraints." (1979, p. 8).
In face of the major sociopolitical changes in attitudes and practices during
the last two decades, changes that have been brought about by deinstitutionalization, communitization (Jones, 1979), and normalization, several issues have surfaced regarding personnel training and development. These issues are, indeed, complex but must be confronted.
A. Training Issues Relating to Deinstitutionalization
As the population of public residential facilities moves to community settings, so also must resources be reallocated, including personnel. Reinstitutionalization plans must provide for retraining of staff for possible job transfer to community programs with assurance of
career mobility and continuity of employment (New Careers Training Laboratory,
1979). Where labor unions have often impeded progress toward these transitions,
they must be included in the dialogue during the early planning stages so that deinstitutionalization can occur with minimal resistance to change and so that employees' rights are given due respect (Apolloni, Capuccilli, & Cooke, 1980).
At the same time, there has been increased demand for improving the skills of those who work in state facilities. This need was addressed in the Minnesota Wel.sch u.
Noot Consent Decree (September, 1980) :
In-service training programs at the state institutions shall include increased emphasis on the proper care of physically handicapped persons (with particular emphasis on their positioning needs), proper implementation of
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behavior management programs, effective training for severely and profoundly
retarded persons in communication skills, and training with regard to the services
provided mentally retarded persons by residential and nonresidentia 1 community
service providers. (Paragraph #60)
Continued success of reinstitutionalization, however, is directly dependent upon the strength of those services provided in the community. This is particularly substantiated by the figures relating to admissions and readmission to state hospitals. In Minnesota, as well as nationally, "over half of all admissions to state hospitals are because of behavior problems. Moreover, nearly all people who are returned to state hospitals . . . are readmitted because of behavior problems" (Minnesota Developmental Disabilities Program Office, Policy Analysis Paper No. 10, p. 14). Provencal suggested
a solution, "Good training of providers virtually eliminates the phenomenon of clients returning to the institution because he or she failed to adjust . . . if there is any failure, we
are the ones who have failed" (Provencal, in Apolloni et al., 1980, p. 36).
The most critical time for interaction between state-operated facility staff and community service providers is before community placements occur. ,In personnel training, there must be instilled not only a commitment toward actively seeking less restrictive placements, but the staff must also be receptive to new knowledge and directions from the placement agency. As they have experienced in the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center in Michigan, "if we carefully select and prepare the people who will be receiving the person leav_ ing the institution, virtually anyone can move to the community at large. This belief has led us to place tremendous efforts in training foster parents and group home personnel" (Provencal, in Apolloni et al., p. 28).
Training Issues Relating to Community Services
In 1974-75, when the CAIR Report (Community Alternatives and Institutional Reform) was being prepared by task force members in Minnesota, there were at least 75 different services identified that might be required at various times in a lifetime by persons with
developmental disabilities living in community settings. The variety of settings and services needed is complicated further by the multiple disciplines, both professional and paraprofessional, involved in delivering these services. Increasingly, the concept of
interdisciplinary service and training has become recognized and implemented.
Continued success of interagency coordination is dependent upon individuals working together for the benefit of persons with developmental disabilities and their families (Elder & Magrab, 1980, p. 22).
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The CAIR Report was very specific in recommending that a single, statewide agency be delegated the responsibility and funding:
to develop an ongoing inventory of instructional programs for the developmentally disabled;
to train staffs and parents on educational strategies which can be applied to promote the development of developmentally disabled persons in all behavioral areas; and
to train staff to have demonstrated competence in educational and behavioral programming, data collection and analysis, and design and implementation of individualized program plans. (p. 6)
To date, there has been little progress in Minnesota toward the implementation of the CAIR recommendations relating to training. This has been a common experience in many other states as well. The development of task analysis, standard job descriptions, training curriculums, and career ladders have been desired by the many actors in the field of developmental disabilities, but these tasks have not been
accomplished because "it wasn't anybody's job" (Provancal, in Apolloni et al., 1980, p. 29).
Another barrier to progress has been turf protection. "Governmental agencies, private agencies, unions, and professional organizations all agree with advocacy groups that there is a need for better services . . .; however, there is little agreement as how to bring it
about" (New Careers Training Laboratory, 1979, P. 5).
One of the many problems that emerges when existing living arrangements are
assessed against the principles and standards of normalization and civil rights guarantees is that "there has not been a commitment to systematic staff development that would assure the availability of sufficient knowledgeable and competent service workers (including caregivers) fully grounded in program philosophy and progressively advancing toward career objectives with state sanctions" (Apolloni et al., 1980, p. 10). Issues such as licensure and certification at the professional level and some type of competency based
credentialing at the direct care level can address in a global fashion the question of staff abilities. The continual updating of skills and knowledge is essential for all staff if new and more advanced teaching and training technologies are to be incorporated into
the day-to-day services.
ASI immediate challenge called for by those in the training field (Jones, 1979;
Pickett, 1980; Ramseyer, 1980; Wray, 1980) is the heightening of and the full
recognition of the status of the paraprofessional. The traditional perceptions of the roles, functions, and
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responsibilities of paraprofessionals as being custodial, housekeeping,
and clerical must be enhanced not only by equipping them with the
knowledge and skills required to do their jobs better but by provialing them with commensurate pay and opportunities for advancement through viable career ladders.
In recent years, a nationwide system for voluntary registration and
certification of mental health/human service workers has been promoted
and developed by the Paraprofessional Manpower Branch of the National
Institute of Mental Ilealth. From this effort, a new organization has been created--the National Commission for Human Service Workers, located in Atlanta, Georgia.
Registration as a mental health/human service worker provides a simple and inexpensive procedure for large numbers of workers to achieve basic occupational identity.
A person who has had at least 30 hours of training, 3 months of experience, and pays a $15 fee can be registered as a human service worker.
Certification is a voluntary, competency-based system designed to assess and certify generic mental health/human service competence. This national certification process involves three assessments: (1) an objective multiple choice test; (2) a clinical
simulation exercise; and (3) the assembly of a portfolio documenting the worker's competence (National Commission of Human Service Workers, 1982).
This national system of registration and certification may serve as a base upon which to build other specialization requirements here in Minnesota.
c. Training Issues Relating to Staff Turnover
Recruitment, retention, and training of staff have been cited as pervasive problems plaguing administrators of both public and nongovernmental, community-based residential facilities alike (Bruininks, Kudla, Wieck, & Hauber, 1980). Direct care staff, who make up the largest portion of the budgets in these facilities, earn well over $1 billion of state and federal monies in wages (Bruininks, Hauber, & Kudla, 1979). Many thousands more are spent in recruiting, training, and placing employees.
Turnover among direct care staff has been documented as alarmingly high, occurring at the rate of over 50% (national mean annual rate) in nonpublic facilities and over 30% in public facilities (Lakin, 1981).
Costs for replacing personnel, providing training alone, have been estimated at $1,500 per person in public institutions in Tennessee (Zaharia & Baumeister, 1978) to $3,000 per person in Massachusetts (Massachusetts Manpower Services Council, 1978). Although replacement costs were found to be lower in community-based residential programs,
from $200 to $500 per person (George, 1980), the cumulative effects in terms of precious dollars, administrative overhead, wasted time and effort, and most importantly, the resulting deterioration of the quality of care provided clients, presents a major challenge and
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threat to the ongoing success of these programs. It becomes evident that millions of dollars could be saved/rechanneled by reducing the high turnover among direct care staff alone (Lakin, 1980).
The solutions to staff turnover may not be very complex; Hitzing (Apolloni et al., 1980), from the Eastern Nebraska Community Office of Retardation (ENCOR) suggested one alternative approach. "The biggest reason for staff turnover may be that people don't understand what they're getting into. One important aspect of training for ENCOR'S residential staff is an early session where staff members talk about what it is like to be a residential manager. ENCOR has learned to be honest early about what new staff people are getting into and that has helped reduce staff turnover later" (P. 91).
D. Training Issues Relating to Adult Education
Freiberg (1979) probably best described the current state of the art relating to the quality of nonformal training programs being provided in almost every segment of human services:
Many inservice programs lack a conceptual framework. Some are not programs at all but a series of disparate experiences. Local programs are too often based on a cafeteria
approach . . . .Learnfng theories and research are ignored in conceptualizing the design, development and implementation of such programs . . . (Thus,) determining the effectiveness of piecemeal programs without the benefit of a systematic design within a rigorous conceptual framework becomes a futile exercise. (p. 8)
There is much to be gained by turning to the growing knowledge base in adult education and asking questions such as "How do adults learn?" Adult learning is premised on at least four crucial assumptions. As individuals mature: (1) their self-concept moves from one of being a dependent personality toward being a self-directed human being; (2) they accumulate a growing reservoir of experience that becomes an increasingly rich resource for learning; (3) their readiness to learning becomes oriented increasingly to the developmental tasks of their social roles; and (4) their time perspective changes from one
of postponed applications of knowledge to immediacy of application, and accordingly, their orientation toward learning shifts from one of subject-centeredness to one of performance-centeredness (Kidd, 1973).
Implications from these basic assumptions toward practice in adult
education are that:
There is a need to build into training programs some preparatory experiences that will help adults to get a new way of perceiving their roles as learners and to gain some new skills in self-directed learning. Poor
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self-concepts resulting from earlier classroom experiences with failure and disrespect must be replaced with an attitude that learning can be enjoyable as well as successful.
Learning environments must be conducive to adult learning. "One can sense rather quickly on entering an institution (of higher learning), for example, whether it cares more about people or things, whether it is concerned about the feelings and welfare of individuals or herds them through like cattle, and whether it views adults as dependent personalities or self-directed human beings." (Knowles, 1980, p. 47)
Adult learners must be intimately involved in diagnosing their own needs for learning and in measuring their own progress toward achieving desired competencies. Creative techniques such as critical incidents, sociodrama, computerized games, laboratory methods, and simulation exercises can be used for self-evaluation. Adult learners must be involved in planning and conducting their learning experiences. People feel committed to a decision if they have participated in making it. Knowles stated that,
"Because adults define themselves largely by their experiences, they have a deep investment in its value. And so when they find themselves in situations in which their experience is not being used, or its worth is minimized, it is not just their experience that is
being rejected-they feel rejected as persons." (p. 50)
Evaluation, thus becomes a process of rediagnosing learning needs by the adult learner and not an act by the teacher grading the student.
Fraiberg (1979) also astutely noted that, "No educational program can be better than those who design and deliver it, yet little attention is paid to training the trainers" (p. 7).
Knowles (1980) maintained that in recent years adult educators are referred to increasingly in the literature as "change agents," as performing "helping roles" (p.37) Their function has moved away from being remedial toward developmental toward helping adult learners to achieve their full potential.
These terms and phrases are all too familiar to those of us who practice in the field of developmental disabilities, for they have been a part of our vocabulary for years. However, they are healthy reminders that we should be practicing what we preach--to apply the same principles of learning to ourselves and our own development.
In this sense, states Knowles, "It is no longer functional to define education as a process of transmitting what is known; it must be defined
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as a life-long process of continuing inquiry. And so the most important learning of all-for both children and adults--is learning how to learn, the skills of self-directed inquiry . . . to create an educative society" (p. 38) .
Resources for learning are everywhere in our environment and people can
get help in their learning from many other persons. "The modern task of education, therefore," says fiowles, "becomes one of finding new ways to link learners with learning resources" (p. 20).
E. Training and Staff Development in Other States
Several states in the U.S. and provinces in Canada have taken aggressive action to address their personnel training needs (New Careers Training Laboratory, 1979). States in this country include: Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Utah. Details about Michigan and Nebraska are described below.
Michigan: Training has been made mandatory at the entry level and for ongoing
in-service training (Provencal, in Apolloni et al., 1980,p. 32; 'Leismer, 1981, p. 2).
Staff in group homes were required to have 120 hours of preservice and 80 hours of in-service annually. Staff in state residential facilities were required to have 240 hours of preservice and 140 hours of in-service training annually. The Michigan State Department of
Mental Health developed a training model to (re)train direct care workers in state facilities. Training was linked to promotion. Employees enter as a trainee or as a direct care staff or supervisor. Curriculum included:
Phase I: 120 hours core curriculum.
Phase II: 290 hours OJT to develop competencies for service delivery.
Phase III: 80 hours orientation to specific facility.
Phase IV: academic credit.
The Macomb-Oakland Regional Center (MORC) was successful in recruiting and training foster parents with 35 new homes for 1 to 3 residents at the cost of $34 per diem in 1981 (Leismer, 1981).
Of particular note, MORC had adopted the philosophy that the agency should not have to recruit personnel. "If the experience is esteemed as being attractive, they come to us" (Provencal, in Apolloni et al. , p. 25). "We select foster parents and group home personnel who are not only well-qualified and interested in working with people who
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have special needs, but who are also committed to learning themselves.
In this regard, we have found that the desire to increase knowledge of theories, trends, and techniques is a far better indicator of foster parent effectiveness than years as a parent, educational degree, or years of being in the field" (Provencal, op. cit., pp. 27 and 28).
Nebraska: To comply with the Consen~ Agreement in Horacek V. Exon, the Nebraska Retardation Panel appointed a Task Force on Manpower Development in September, 1978. A statewide humanpower training model was developed for persons working in community residential facilities (Nebraska Mental Retardation Panel, 1979). Uniform standards were applied throughout the state with the community college serving as the principal means of humanpower development. Five levels of training provided the framework for a career ladder: support staff, aides, technicians, professionals, managers, or teachers. One year of college was required for direct care staff, with salaries upgraded. Statewide credentialing was initiated.
Reflecting upon the training program at the Eastern Nebraska Community Office
of Retardation (ENCOR), Hitzing (Apolloni et al., p. 89) spoke openly, "One important thing to understand is that although ENCOR has been viewed as providing exemplary residential service, it has never had an outstanding (staff) training program. In fact, I
don't know of any community-based program in the United States that does. If there is one aspect of community service development of which we should be ashamed, it is training."
III. METHODOLOGY
In the fall of 1981, structured interviews were conducted with key informants representing 19 different agencies or organizations in Minnesota. The main criteria used for selecting an agency or organization was that they were providing nonformal training on a regular basis for personnel working in the field of developmental disabilities.
The respondents were those who had the authority to speak on behalf of their
respective agencies or organizations, such as the director, executive secretary, training unit supervisor, or staff trainer/coordinator.
The 19 agencies or organizations that comprised the selected sample for this study fall into four major classifications of training providers: (1) state agencies (N = 4); (2) professional organizations (N = 8); (3) communitY residential service providers (N = 3); and (4) continuing education (N = 4). The agencies/organizations included in this survey are:
State Agencies (N = 4):
Special Education, Minnesota Department of Education;
Technical Consultation and Training Section, Division of Health Systems, Minnesota Department of Health;
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Staff Development Office (St. paul), Minnesota Department of Public Welfare; and
Staff Development, Faribault State Hospital, Minnesota Department of Public Welfare.
Professional Organizations (N = 8):
AAMD, American Association on Mental Deficiency (Minnesota Chapter);
ARRM, Association of Residences for the Retarded in Minnesota;
MARF, Minnesota Association of Rehabilitation Facilities;
MNABA, Minnesota Association of Behavior Analysis;
MAP, Minnesota Association of Private Residential Facilities for the Mentally Retarded;2
MCEC, Minnesota Council for Exceptional Children; and
MNDACA, Minnesota Developmental Achievement Center Association.
Community Residential Service Providers (N = 3):
Olmsted Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC) Homes, Inc.;
Portland Residence, Inc.; and
REM, Inc., Robert E. Miller, Inc.
Continuing Education (N = 4):
CCE, Center for Continuing Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration, Region V, c/o Multi Resource Centers, Inc.;
Chronic Disease in Childhood Curriculum Development Project, Program in Maternal and Child Health, University of Minnesota;
Continuing Education in Social Work, University of Minnesota; and
Sister Kenny Institute, Research and Education Department, Abbott-Northwestern Hospital.
The findings in this study are based on a selected sample and do not attempt to identify or describe the universe of nonformal training activities. For example, this report includes only three community residential programs that provide on-site preservice and in-service training and does not include samples of other types of services, e.g., developmental
1 MDACC was dissolved July, 1982.
2 MAP has now been merged with ARRM.
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achievement centers, special education programs, or sheltered workshops. A separate survey
of community residential services and developmental achievement centers
regarding in-service training will be published in Policg Analysis
Paper No. 14.
IV. RESULTS
The results section will be presented in the following order:
(a) analysis of statements of purpose,
(b) training needs assessments,
(c) selection of training topics,
(d) evaluation methods,
(e) finances,
(f) number of people trained,
(g) number and locations of
training events,
(h) training content and trends,
(i) coordination needs and
barriers,
and
(j) suggestions for future training efforts.
A. Analysis of Statements of Purpose
The respondents were asked to provide written or verbal statements of
purpose for their agency, organization,
or particular training unit.
All had the following common elements within their statements of
purpose:
(a) to work continuously toward the improvement of the quality
of services offered to people with developmental disabilities,
(b) to achieve such program enhancement by increasing the competency levels of
personnel. The professional organizations included an additional
dimension to the statement of purpose that pertained to morale building
and the improvement of professional status or image.
B.
Training Needs Assessments
Table 1 displays the methods used by the respondents in assessing the
training needs of their audiences.
As indicated, most of the methods used were informal (e.g., receiving verbal input from the participants
or training committees) as opposed to conducting surveys, compiling
data from program or personnel performance reviews, or using an
external consultant/evaluator. Another common method for assess
ing training needs was the tabulation of suggestions received from
evaluations of past training activities.
Only one organization received input from the ASSET Project (Adjusting Service Systems to Evolving Therapies) (see p. 26), where members of the organization
were formally tested according to competencies in a highly specialized
area-aversive treatment.
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.
Table 1 Methods of Assessing Training Needs by Category of
Agency/Organization
(.Fall, 1981)
Selection of Training Topics
The respondents were asked,
"Who selects the training topics?" Implied in this question is whether
decisions are made by management and/or central staff or by means of a
wider participation from those receiving the training (e.g., through
board/committee participation).
The responses are displayed in Table 2.
State agencies employ several methods for making their decisions. While
management and staff make the final decisions, they depend upon input
from advisory/planning committees. Professional organi
zations, on the other hand,
usually do not have central staff and depend solely upon
committee/board decision making.
?
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Table 2 Authority for Selection of Training Content
and Methods by Category of Agency/Organization
(Fall, 1981)
Where the decisions are left to the choice of the trainees, it is usual
for a group of trainees to request a particular topic, e.g. , through
continuing education or a state agency. Or, again, the
trainees make the decisions when they are part of an organization that
practices participatory management.
D. Evaluation Method
This question assessed how nonformal training activities were being
evaluated.
The respondents were presented with three levels by which
training might be evaluated:
Level 1:
feedback evaluation, usually provided i-n the form of a feedback
sheet which elicits positive or negative reactions from the
trainee about the training experience.
Level 2: learning evaluation, paper and pencil
tests, work samples, or demonstrations
that illustrate what principles, facts, or techniques have been
learned.
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Level 3:
behavior change or transfer evaluation, which measures changes in
work performance, learning retention, and learning
transfer to the job situation once training has been completed.
Measurement of behavior change is usually accomplished by self-ratings,
follow-up surveys, or videotape recordings.
While all of the respondents used feedback evaluation (see Table 3),
only a few (5 of 19,
or 26%) measured what learning took place, or
if learning was transferred to the job (1 of 19, or 5%).
Table 3 Methods Used to Evaluate Nonformal Training Activities
by the Selected Sample Agencies/Organizationsa
(Fall, 1981)
METHODS OF BEHAVIOR
EVALUATION CHANGE
E. Expenditures on Nonformal Training
Respondents were asked to provide an estimate of the dollars expended
for provision of nonformal training for 1981. Not all the agencies
or organizations could provide these figures (see Table 4).
In some cases,
estimates were made since records were not kept separately for
the developmental disability category.
The total amount of money spent on nonformal training
activities by these agencies was over
$4.5 million.
There are no baseline figures available for compari_ son, Most
respondents anticipated budget cuts due to state and na
tional economic conditions.\
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Table 4
Expenditures on Nonformal Training by the Selected
Sample of Training Providers
(Fiscal Year 1981)
F. Number of People Trained
Although requested,
very few respondents were
able to document the
number of people who attended their training sessions, conferences, or
seminars. Those individuals who did provide this information had
kept excellent records, but these instances were relatively infrequent
so that it became impractical to report the results of this question.
G. Number and Location of Training Events
A frequent complaint heard from personnel living outside of the Twin
Cities has been that training events are never (or almost never)
scheduled in their particular geographic location. The results of
this question documents that such complaints are usually valid.
Among the 19 training providers surveyed, there were 15 agencies or
organizations that served the entire state. Table 5 reflects that out
of 263 training events sponsored by these 15 trainers. 57% were located
in Region Eleven, the metropolitan, seven_county area of the
state.
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When comparing the results among the different types of trainers,
however, there are some major differences,
State. agencies scheduled the
highest percentage of training events around the state, with only 19%
of their events held in Region Eleven in fiscal year 1981. In the
same year, eight professional organizations held 71% of their events
in Region Eleven,
and the four continuing education programs held all of their 69 events
in Region Eleven.
It should be noted that the following agencies were excluded from
this analysis, for they provide localized training by nature of theirt
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geographic focus: Faribault State Hospital; REM, Inc.; Portland
Residence; Metro DAC Council;
and Olmsted ARC Group Homes.
H. Training
Content and Trends
The key informants provided lists of topics and schedules of their
nonformal training activities.
A complete list was compiled for fiscal year 1981 and only a partial list for fiscal year 1982. The quantity of this information is surpassed only by the diversity of
topics covered. Because of the volume of information collected about
topics, only a sample of one organization's annual conference is
displayed in Table 6 to illustrate the diversity.
One way of measuring and analyzing the content of nonformal training
that took place in fiscal year 1981 is to examine the number of hours
spent in actual training.
Another approach is to note the frequency
of topics that occurred among the various nonformal training programs
in order to observe certain patterns or trends.
During fiscal year 1981,
a total of 3,779 hours of training was pro
vided by the 19 selected agencies/organizations (see Table 7).
The topics were categorized into four general content areas:
(1) administration/management;
(2) information exchange/issues
(3) human growth and development; and
(4) treatment/training techniques. When comparing the number of hours spent in each
of these general content areas, it appears that there is a fairly even
distribution or coverage of all four content areas (see Table 7).
There was a range from 646 hours in information exchange/issues to a high of 967 hours addressing treatment/training techniques.
This even distribution is also noticeable among the four types of training providers.
Tables 8 and 9 display the topics that occurred most frequently among
the training topics provided in fiscal year 1981 and fiscal year 1982,
respectively.
The greatest number of hours, collective among the
training providers,
was in the area of behavior management and behav
ior problems which also included the management of aggressive behavior
and self-protection for sraff. A total of 264 hours was provided
on behavior management in fiscal year 1981 and 63 hours in fiscal year 1982.
(NOTE: the data collected for fiscal year 1982 was not
complete.) Table 10 compares the number of hours on
behavior management by category of training providers in relation to the
total number of hours of training provided.
Professional organizations de
voted 24% of their total training hours to behavior management.
Repetition of topics suggests certain trends.
Some were indicative of the times we live in, such as the topic of
"cut-back management" in Table 9 (fiscal year 1982). Other topics,
e.g., abuse and neg-
Iect of the vulnerable adult, were in response to newly enacted
legislation.
Other topics with highest frequencies may reflect the
nature of the needs of the clientele,
such as human sexuality, the
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Table 6 Sample of One Professional Organization's Annual Conference
Topics
I. Coordination Needs and Barriers
In response to the question of what barriers exist that prevent better
coordination of training efforts between agencies and organizations,
the respondents indicated that such barriers were either
financial or organizational (bureaucratic):l
Financial Barriers:
"competition for funds among the various agencies or organizations."
"money and resources."
(2 responses) "money flows from diverse channels."
"geographic distances, especially in Northern Min_ nesota.
It's too expensive to transport and house
staff into the Metro Area, where many of the training opportunities
occur."
"many administrators don't see training as a good
investment."
1
Each of the responses occurred once except where noted in parentheses.
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Organizational/Bureaucratic Barriers:
"different philosophies among the various organizations."
"there is a natural tendency to 'do our own thing. '"
"turf/territorial protection."
(5 responses)
"specialized interests, every organization has own needs."
. "fear of losing agencylorganization identity." l
"lack of communication, poor dissemination of information."
(4 responses)
"awareness and time."
l
"heterogeneity of audiences and their specialized needs (e.g., the recent legislative changes regarding certification requirements for school nurses
and for early childhood educators by 1982 and 1985, respectively.)"
"narrow eligibility criteria in federal programs, e.g. , Title XX."
J. Suggestions for Future Training Efforts
The key informants were asked to list what topics or concerns they had
regarding future training needs. :heir comments, as arranged
process of discovering and utilizing/modifying local resources."
"funding--who's going to pay for services?" .
"licensing."
"management techniques/skills. "
(2 responses)
"how to relate to the business community."
"work activity programs."
Emerging
Issues and/or Need for More Information Dissemination:
l "handicapped awareness, human rights, and advocacy."
(5 responses)
.
"status of services to physically handicapped (e.g.,
Minnesota is serving only 20%, educationally)."
.
"status of state and federal law (and regulations),
especially in the area of special education." " "legal issues." (2 responses)
.
"Vulnerable Adult Protection Act and the protection
of staff."
-._
1
Each of the responses occurred once except where noted in parentheses.
l
.
Policy Analysis Paper #12 January 3, 1983
Page 24
Treatment Techniques:
.
"least restrictive programming."
l "behavior management technology." (2 responses) l "behavior problems."
Methods of Training:
l
"there is a great need to teach/refresh presenters
in presentation skills."
.
"paraprofessional training is not well-developed
yet."
.
"technical information should be made available on
short notice, almost like custom designed programs for small groups."
.
"there is a need to develop 'canned orientation presentations'
on audio-visual media (e.g. , introduc
tion to mental retardation, behavior management techniques), which are
inexpensive, easy to use and can be self-taught."
v. DISCUSSION
This study was an attempt to document and describe nonformal training
activities for personnel working in the field of developmental
disabilities in Minnesota. Nonformal training,
in essence, was defined as adult
education experiences that take place outside of the formal education
sector,
e.g. , conferences, workshops, seminars, in-service training, or
courses.
On a positive scale, this study did document that people,
generally, are motivated to continue their education throughout their
adult lives. Although this study could not document the exact numbers
because accurate counts were not usually collected,
it is evident that literally thou_
sands of people regularly participate in hundreds of training
events taking place throughout the state each year, just in the
specialized area of developmental disabilities alone.
Yet, while millions of dollars are invested in nonformal training
activities, there are few tangible results:
(a) most nonformal training events are not designed to meet individual needs and competencies desired;
(b) methods of evaluating training do not measure what learning
has occurred, or whether or not new knowledge brought about change in
work performance;
(c) most nonformal training activities do not offer
continuing education credits,
and where credits are given, they cannot be applied toward career
advancement because there are few career ladders provided.
Among the 19 agencies and organizations contacted in the survey, all agreed that there was a need for coordination/collaboration in the area of training.
Their responses to the last question in the survey, "How
Policy Analysis Paper #12
January 3, 1983
Page 25
might training efforts be better coordinated in Minnesota?" serve not
only as summary of stated needs but also provide some concrete ideas
for immediate steps that could be taken.
Comments by the respondents as to
how training efforts might be better coordinated in Minnesota reflected
three general areas for improvement:
(1) communications/sharing of in
formation,
(2) training metho~s, and
(3) interagency coordination. Their suggestions are listed below:
Communication/Information Sharing:
"hold interagency/organizational meetings for leaders to share
information." (3 responses)
"provide a clearinghouse for dates of events, topics, and for the
dissemination of information." (3 re
sponses)
"in an information clearinghouse, have information regarding higher
education/continuing education opportunities by location."
"distribute detailed outlines of subjects in seminars,
workshops, and conferences in advance." (2
responses)
"catalogue/list available speakers, educational and training
resources."
"compile evaluations of past training events and audience focus."
"make better use of computer and word processing technology."
"there is a need for a central, current mailing list--who to send information to."
(2 responses)
Coordination of Training Methods:
"more use of video taped lectures."
.
"match specific needs with variety of facility types
and level of staff."
.
"coordinate higher education around development incentives."
.
"on-the-job observation, evaluation, and training is needed."
"encourage multi-disciplinary interaction and learning opportunities."
"provide central office that would conduct training needs assessments, staff evaluation, and provide technical assistance,"
Other Training Resources in Minnesota Worth Noting
It was a common experience by the investigators in this study to frequently discover training resources that were already in place or were
1
Each of the responses occurred once except where noted in parentheses.
.
Policy Analysis Paper #12
January 3, 1983
Page 26
in early stages of development.
Such resources may be helpful in future efforts to coordinate and
develop comprehensive training programs in Minnesota.
Such resources would include:
ASSET Training Project.
The acronym "ASSET" refers to Adjusting Service Systems to Evolving Therapies.
This cooperative program between the Minnesota-Learning Center (Brainerd), the St.
Cloud State University, and Mankato State University is a
computer-assisted format for testing and training of people in the use
of aversive treatment techniques.
Center for Early Education and Development (CEED), University of
Minnesota. This center has been highly successful in
sponsoring an annual Minnesota Round Table in Early Education,
with emphasis on interdisciplinary discussions about
applying research knowledge to practice.
Central Conference of University
Training Programs in Developmental Disabilities.
This has been primarily a media exchange effort using videotape and telephone conference call discussions
among 14 University Affiliated Facilities in the Upper Midwest.
The Central Conference Agency in Minnesota
has been the Child Development Section, St. Paul-Ramsey Medical
Center/University of Minnesota.
Government Training Service.
Established under the joint
powers authority, this is a public organization representing the
cooperative efforts of seven governmental units and instrumentalities.
Management, training, and consultation are offered to public employees,
officials, and employers in the state of Minnesota.
This agency is currently under contract
with the Department of Energy, Planning and Development to conduct
the Developmental Disabilities Training Project, under a grant from
the McKnight Foundation.
Internal Task Force on Inservice and Preservice Training.
The Minnesota Department of Education provides this guidance.
Joint Liaison Committee.
Operating out of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Department
of Economic Security, this committee has" served as the communication
link between several state agencies and professional trainers in the
field of rehabilitation since 1969.
Minnesota Association for Severely Handicapped (MNASH). This group was
formed in October, 1981, and has been in the process of affiliating
with the national organization, The Association for Severely
Handicapped (TASH).
Minnesota Training Consortium.
From an office in the Range
Center in Chisholm, this newly formed group will be attempting
Policy Analysis Paper #12
January 3, 1983
Page 27
The who
to coordinate training efforts and resources for personnel working in
the field of developmental disabilities.
Southern Minnesota Chapter of American Society for Training and
Development (ASTD). This is a national professional so
ciety of more than 15,000 persons responsible for the train ing and
development of today's work force. These individuals
design and administer training and management programs in business, industry,
education, government, and service Organ izations.
above listing is not exhaustive and apologies are offered to others may
have been unintentionally omitted.
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