Orientation for ODP Service Providers · 2018-12-07 · Orientation for ODP Service Providers Individual Rights: Webcast #4 This webcast includes spoken narration. To adjust the volume,

Orientation for ODP Service Providers Individual Rights: Webcast #4

Music only.

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This webcast includes spoken narration.

To adjust the volume, use the controls at the bottom of the screen. While viewing this webcast, there is a pause and reverse button that can be used throughout the presentation.

The written version of the narration appears to the right of the screen.

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Certificates of Achievement will be available to all staff of Direct Care Provider Agencies and Supports Coordination Organizations after completing all course requirements.

Please view and then save or print your certificate in order to receive credit for this course.

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Hello, my name is Dave Maloney from The Columbus Organization. This is the fourth in a series of four webcasts developed on the topic of Individual Rights for all newly hired service provider staff including managers, supervisors, Direct Support Professionals, Supports Coordinators, buildings and ground staff and administrative support staff.

The training content is offered by the Office of Developmental Programs to meet the General Orientation training requirements specific to the topic areas identified in the 55 PA Code 6100 Regulations.

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The title of the webcast is deliberate. When we know more about respecting and promoting the rights of people with developmental disabilities, we can do better in our everyday interactions.

After watching this webcast, you will

* Understand the connection between Everyday Lives Values and rights.

* Recognize how supporting rights promotes partnership with individuals and families.

* Learn what self‐advocates say is important about respecting rights.

* And understand how promoting individual rights connects people to their community and promotes relationships and safety.

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Imagine you were planning a big event in your life – a wedding, moving to a new home, or a special family celebration. This is BIG, perhaps a once or twice in a lifetime event, so you decide to hire a professional to help pull things together. Which of these people would you choose?

The professional who tells you, “Here’s what I think is important in providing this service.” Or the one who says, “Tell me what’s important to you so I understand exactly what to do.”

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Does the person who wants to listen and learn what’s important to you seem like the better choice? Her starting point is what YOU want to accomplish.

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It seems like such a small thing to do, but think about how it can completely change the conversation. When someone begins with wanting to know your priorities, the person doesn’t seem like someone who’s already figured everything out. This is someone who believes there is something to learn and sees you as a partner in making your vision a reality.

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In this webcast series, we’ve woven the Everyday Lives Values together with the concepts of understanding, respecting, and promoting people’s rights. But just for a moment, I want you to think about something other than the actual words the Everyday Lives Values use.

In previous webcasts in this series, we’ve talked about how the Everyday Lives Values were developed, nearly 30 years ago, in 1991. You might imagine a room full of professionals talking about how the system should operate and how to provide good service to individuals and families. And of course, there were agency and government representatives with ideas for improvement. But what those early discussions were really about was asking individuals and families a simple question: “What is important to you?” Their answers led to the development of the Everyday Lives Values that have guided the system for nearly three decades.

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The story of how the Everyday Lives Values were developed is an example of how people with power and influence chose to give the microphone to individuals and families and respected their right to speak and be heard. It was a clear signal that the Office of Developmental Programs wanted partnership among individuals, families, service providers, and government.

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The Everyday Lives Values were developed in the context of a decades‐long movement called self‐determination. Self‐determination means that people with disabilities raised their voices for greater control, choice, and freedom, and over time, changed things for all people with disabilities. The Everyday Lives Values came about at the same time as other milestones in the disability rights movement, such as the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991, which prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities in employment and public services and accommodations.

These movements parallel the American story of expanding rights that we discussed in previous webcasts – the continually broadening circle that includes us all, valuing who we are and what we contribute.

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Exercising rights expands as we enter each new stage of life. As children, we’re dependent on grown‐ups. As adults, we expect to be able to choose the work we do, choose who is part of our circle of support – friends and family – and decide how to become involved in our community in ways that give meaning, purpose, and satisfaction.

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As young adults, we get our first glimpse of ourselves as unique individuals with choice, freedom, and control over our lives. We inherit the rights and responsibilities of independence and citizenship just by becoming adults. We may choose to exercise rights – for example, by voting – or choose not to. We may become politically outspoken if there are issues about which we have strong feelings. We may choose to marry, start a family or remain single. In all stages of our lives, we want respect, independence, and dignity. Our choices and decisions are motivated by our own unique vision of a life worth living.

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Our service system has a way of capturing this concept of the stages of life that keep us on the path toward the future we want. We call it Charting the LifeCourseTM, and it’s a way to envision how exercising our right to make choices and decisions at every stage of life keeps us moving toward our vision for our lives.

More information on Charting the LifeCourseTM is available on the MyODP website.

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To understand how concepts like Lifecourse, the Everyday Lives Values, and self‐determination fit together, we need to remember how our system and our work have so fundamentally changed over the past four decades.

We have learned how supports developed around each person’s abilities, interests, and preferences are more effective in achieving a good quality of life, as the person defines it. Rather than providing services that tend to separate people from the community and those they want to spend time with, services are tailored to connect people to their communities and support relationships with family and friends.

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Our system and how we act have changed because we now see individuals and families as leaders and partners with us. And listening to the voices of people we support extends beyond developing plans. Individuals and families are recognized as having valuable contributions to policy and planning for the future. Their perspective on the system is unique because they have experience that professionals don’t: they have lived within the system and experienced it first‐hand.

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In preparing for this webcast, we followed the example of how the Everyday Lives Values were developed and began by talking with leaders in the self‐advocacy movement. Gabe, Gretchen, Josh, Laura, Oscar, and Renee are members of an organization called Self‐Advocates United as 1, or SAU1. They are coaches because they not only advocate for themselves but offer insights, advice, and advocacy to individuals and families.

We began by asking these men and women, “What do people need to know about promoting and respecting your rights?”

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They didn’t talk about extraordinary, unreachable things. They told us they expect their privacy to be respected and to have a say in who is part of their lives. To marry who they love. They want to live with people they choose and be given the same respect in public that all of us expect. They want a say in everyday choices like the friends they choose and how to be a part of the communities in which they live.

Aren't these rights the same as what you want in life?

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Being part of the community means more than just having a home in a neighborhood, town or city. Think about the people in your neighborhood and community. Some of them are acquaintances and you’re on a first‐name basis. With other people, you may have found out you have shared interests. Maybe there are a few people with whom you feel a bond and trust, and you share the things that are happening in your life – your daughter was accepted into college, your grandson just had his second birthday, or you’re adjusting to life since your spouse passed away.

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There are people who like and admire you, perhaps for a talent, or a willingness to roll up your sleeves and contribute as a volunteer. Maybe people count on you to point out the silver lining in a situation. Maybe you make people smile and laugh, or you’re the one they count on to bring cookies at the holidays. These are the gifts you give to others, just by being who you are.

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It’s the same with people with developmental disabilities. When relationships among people in the community deepen into friendship – and love – the circle of support becomes a little bigger. When people care about another person, they might ask if everything is okay if the person hasn’t been around in a while. Being missed means that the person has a place in the minds of other people that only he or she can fill.

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And here’s the point of connection with being part of the community and individual rights. Knowing people in the community and being known might mean that someone will speak up along with the person if he or she is being shown disrespect. Feeling connected within the community is a comfort because there are others to count on in times of trouble. Being connected to others means people are more secure and safer.

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Perhaps you’ve noticed that, in this final webcast in the Individual Rights series, I’ve spent some time asking you to reflect on your rights. These rights include the right to be treated with respect and dignity, the right to speak up and to expect others to remember and act upon what is important to you. That you have the right to be connected to your community.

I’ve been using words like “you” and “we” instead of just talking about people with developmental disabilities deliberately to make a simple point. If you want to know how to treat people with dignity and respect, one way is to just ask, as we did with the self‐advocates.

Another way is to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. If you were receiving support, how would you want people to respect your privacy? If you need help being a part of the community, what should people do to support your choices about when, with whom, and how? If you need support for health and safety – say, for a medical concern – what would you want to happen so that you felt in control of what was going on?

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Let’s take a look at a few examples of how everyone, in every role, can support the rights of people with developmental disabilities.

Imagine that you, as a new employee, are watching closely to learn how the people you work with show respect for the rights of others. You begin to hear stories about coworkers and see things they do that give you ideas about what it means to respect each person’s rights.

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Liz is the Chief Financial Officer of the agency. Her office is near the door where people come and go throughout the day. Most Thursday afternoons, Liz sees Gus, who stops by after picking up his paycheck. Because she enjoys talking with Gus, Liz makes sure her door is open and she’s away from the computer when she knows he’ll be by. There are times when he talks about his girlfriend or his family, and when that happens, Liz makes sure to push the door closed enough so that people in the hall won’t overhear.

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Joy loves volunteering with Tammy, Christy, and Barb. Recently, she was helping the women plant a small vegetable garden in planters on the patio. While they were working, it became very hot. Joy, Christy, and Barb put sunscreen on and then offered it to Tammy, but she declined. Joy remembered that Tammy was particular about textures on her skin but prone to bad sunburn because of medications. Joy pulled Tammy aside and reminded her about taking precautions against sunburn. Then they talked about choices: Tammy could try the sunscreen, Joy could pull a planter into the shade for Tammy to work, or she could go inside and stay out of the sun. Tammy said no to the sunscreen but decided she wanted to continue and so she moved to a shady spot.

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Her first day on the job, Charlene saw something that she always remembered. Charlene and Ken walked to the corner store with Alicia to get snacks for movie night. Charlene expected Ken to choose the snacks and pay for them, but instead, she saw him stop and watch as Alicia took items from the basket, placed them on the counter, and took money from her pocketbook.

The gentleman behind the counter asked Alicia if she had found everything she wanted, but Charlene noticed that he was looking at Ken for an answer, not Alicia. Ken didn’t say anything but deliberately looked to Alicia and drew the clerk’s attention to her. Alicia smiled at the clerk and thanked him, counting her change. As she walked toward the door, Charlene saw Alicia break into a big smile.

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The examples show that, in ordinary everyday moments, there are opportunities to promote people’s right to privacy, choices, control, and self‐direction.

Whether your role is to provide direct support to people with developmental disabilities or you interact with people receiving support while performing other responsibilities, you will find these opportunities to respect each person’s dignity and rights.

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We have talked about how the disability rights movement has, over many years, helped people to find their own voice and speak up for their rights. Now, more and more individuals with disabilities and their families are partners in directing and controlling the services they receive so that may achieve their vision of a better life.

We’ve listened and learned from individuals and families. This shows that as we continue to know more, we’ll do better. And that’s the commitment for you to make for the future, as well.

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This concludes the fourth and final webcast on Orientation for ODP Service Providers: Individual Rights. Please be sure to watch all four webcasts and complete all the course requirements in order to obtain your Certificate of Achievement and training credit.

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This webcast has been developed and produced by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Developmental Programs in partnership with The Columbus Organization.

Thank you for participating in this lesson.

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Documents

Orientation for ODP Service Providers · 2018-12-07 · Orientation for ODP Service Providers Individual Rights: Webcast #4 This webcast includes spoken narration. To adjust the volume,