Training > Required

Required - Core Competency

By completing the two courses (Introduction to Developmental Disabilities and Health & Safety), direct care staff will meet the core competency training requirement found in Section 2.1 (7) of the June 23, 2005 Developmental Disabilities Waiver Services Coverage and Limitation Handbook. The specific requirement is: All direct service providers are required to complete training in the Department's Direct Care Core Competencies Training, or an equivalent curriculum approved by the Department within 90 days from the effective date of this rule. Said training may be completed using the Department's web-based instruction or classroom instruction. The provider shall maintain on file for review, adequate and complete documentation to verify its participation, and the participation of its employees, in the required training sessions.

• All people hired after June 30, 2006 will need to complete the core competency training prior to providing unsupervised direct care.

Required - Zero Tolerance

The purpose of the Zero Tolerance course is to teach direct care providers, support coordinators, and any person providing care or support to an APD client on behalf of the Agency or its providers about abuse, neglect and exploitation of persons with developmental disabilities. It will provide information about how often these types of crimes happen and also describe how and why these crimes usually occur. This training will provide you with the tools to identify potentially dangerous situations and tell you how to report that information. Finally, this course will provide you with information about things you can do to help prevent abuse, neglect, and exploitation from happening in the first place. Completion of this course will satisfy the new training requirements for all individuals providing services to APD clients under the Medicaid waiver program and to residents of APD-licensed residential facilities (as described in administrative rules 59G-8.200, F.A.C. and 65G-2, F.A.C.).

Web-based Training

Web-based Training is available through APD's training website, which is a cooperative effort between APD and Tallahassee Community College (TCC). Please visit APD's Training Site at TCC and follow the instructions you find on the pages which follow. When you finish these courses you should print a transcript (which will show you have completed these two courses) and which APD's quality assurance reviewers (Delmarva) will accept as proof of completion.

APD is in the process of making improvements to its online courses on the Tallahassee Community College Web site. The Health and Safety course currently is being updated, and new courses are in the planning stages. To offset the cost of these upgrades and ensure continuous improvement of APD's online training, the agency must charge a $20 fee for each course. The fee becomes effective on November 1, 2008. TCC accepts checks and credit cards and handles all payment details. When paying by check, TCC will enroll a person as soon as a registration/check are sent, but they are allowing 3 business days to process. Credit card payments are processed the same day they are entered. Once the registration fee is processed, course registration may begin. Please note, you cannot register for the TCC courses and take them on the same day. Course registration is an overnight process so you register on day 1, and take course on day 2 or later.

The agency is pleased that these courses will remain readily accessible to providers and others, since the cost to complete this training is far less than the travel costs that might be required for a classroom setting. The online courses have the added benefit of being available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Transcripts are updated every Friday, for classes completed the previous week.

A tollfree line has been established for TCC's help desk and should be called if you have trouble logging into or navigating APD's web-based courses: 1-866-605-7274. This line is manned between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays.

Thank you for the services you provide to APD clients. APD and TCC hope you continue to enjoy this learning opportunity, as well as find it convenient and useful.

Classroom Training

Classroom Training is available through any APD area office. Please visit Schedule of Classroom Sessions in order to determine when training is available in your area. There is also a List of Certified Area Trainers. Because the curricula are standardized, you may take the courses from any certified area trainer. A certificate of completion will be provided by the certified trainer, when you hav completed both courses. APD's quality assurance reviewers (Delmarva) will also accept the certificate provided for classroom training as proof of completion.