Statewide System in Positive Behavior Support

GOALS:

Implement collaborative effort to provide for effective positive behavioral supports for persons served by the South Carolina adult MR/DD system (Department of Disabilities and Special Needs by:  a) providing training for community program staff and developers of support plans; b) increasing capacity and availability of providers; and c) implementing quality assurance activities as outlined in the revised MR/RD Medicaid Waiver service of behavior support.

DESCRIPTION:

This project (described in more detail in the article by D. Rotholz and M. Ford in Mental Retardation, October 2003) represents an ongoing long-term collaboration between the South Carolina UCEDD and the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (SCDDSN).  This effort, perhaps unique nationally, has used training, technical assistance, changes to SCDDSN’s Medicaid MR/RD Waiver, and quality assurance to change the way in which positive behavioral supports are provided to consumers of SCDDSN’s supports and services.  Aside from the benefits to persons with mental retardation and related disabilities who receive these supports, the project has produced a nationally and commercially distributed training curriculum and peer-reviewed articles that can enable other service providers to benefit from the work conducted in this project.

PERSONNEL: