The Direct Support Professionals Foundation Program is offered at Technical Colleges throughout Georgia. It provides a foundation of core values and skills for those just beginning a career relating to providing support that enable people to live and participate successfully within their communities. The courses also offer a valuable “refresher” that renew and fill in skill areas of staff already employed with a community provider. The program consists of two courses, with each course accompanied by a practicum that takes place concurrently with the classroom work. The emphasis of the curriculum is on defining, interpreting, and implementing a set of core values through guided experiences. The values and accompanying skills are intended to develop the capacity of direct support staff in their commitments to and practices related to inclusion and person-centered practice. It is impossible for an introductory certificate program to cover the enormous body of knowledge that a support person potentially needs in supporting a person with disabilities in the context of community life. Therefore, the program’s orientation is to provide a broad understanding of principles to guide the application of skills, and to focus on problem solving and resource identification.
Collaborating organizations are The Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD), the Technical College System of Georgia (DTAE), and the Georgia Department of Human Resources (DHR).                (Updated April 2008)