Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Friday that the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities has entered into a $5 million agreement with the State University of New York to expand a program that will enable direct support professionals to secure national certification and college credit toward a certificate, associate or bachelor’s degree.
The program, known as a microcredential, is aimed at helping individuals already working in the profession and those new to the developmental disabilities field to earn college credits that meet requirements for certification from the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP). Successful completion of the program will result in a SUNY microcredential, a national certification, and college credit toward a certificate, associate, or bachelor’s degree.
Supported through $5 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, the microcredential program is aimed at helping individuals already working in the profession and those new to the developmental disabilities field. The program will provide a $750 stipend to eligible students who successfully complete a microcredential and earn a certification. Grant funding will cover tuition, books, course materials, NADSP credentialing for students, and educational supports.
The partnership is aimed at encouraging students to pursue professions that provide direct support for people with developmental disabilities and to further professionalize the developmental disabilities workforce. The microcredential program will prepare participants to deliver high-quality supports to people with developmental disabilities, provide opportunities to the existing workforce, and create a pipeline of qualified candidates who are trained and certified in the field.
“New Yorkers with developmental disabilities deserve to have the right people with the right training supporting them so they can thrive in their day-to-day lives,” Governor Hochul…
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