The Community Support Program
The Community Support Program focuses on ways to improve the community for people with disabilities. This program provides support to meet the needs of the disability community throughout Illinois. Some ways we are currently supporting the community:
Direct Support Professional Workforce Initiative -Helping people with disabilities and organizations find and keep quality direct support
professionals, or personal assistants (with funding from ICDD).
An exciting new resource has been developed through the DSP Initiative for individuals with disabilities and their family members! Access a copy of the toolkit designed to provide easy-to-use tips and strategies to help people to find, choose and keep high quality Direct Support Professionals.
Workforce Development Plan for Illinois Direct Support Professional Initiative The Initiative's Steering and Advisory Committee have created a comprehensive plan to address direct support workforce issues in Illinois. The following are three versions of the Workforce Development Plan with varying details about these workforce issues.
One Page Summary - 1.5 MB (PDF file)
Executive Summary - 3.3 MB (PDF file)
Full Version - 3.4 MB (PDF file)
Family Support 360 Project - A Collaborative Project of the Institute on Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, Community Support Services, families of Berwyn and Cicero, community leaders, and local and state organizations to develop a family-driven plan for a one-stop family support center. This project is for families of persons with developmental disabilities in the primarily Latino communities of Berwyn and Cicero.
Family Support 360: Empowering a Community
Please download the executive summary of the 360 plan.
English version (PDF file, MS Word) Spanish version (PDF, MS Word)
Caldwell, J., Lopez, E., DeBrine, E., Factor, A., Heller, T., & Ennis, D. (2006). Future planning resource guide for families and adults with developmental disabilities in Illinois. (PDF file, MS Word).
Caldwell, J., Lopez, E., DeBrine, E., Factor, A., Heller, T., & Ennis, D. (2006). Guía de Recursos de Planificación Para el Futuro Para Familias y Adultos con Discapacidades del Desarrollo en Illinois (PDF file, MS Word)
Apoyo Familiar 360: Fortalecer a una Comunidad Sumario Ejecutivo del Proyecto para Apoyo Familiar 360 (PDF, MS Word).
Continuing Education Units (CEUs) -Coordinating training and conferences and giving continuing education units to professionals (Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Nursing Home Administrators, Speech Language Pathologists, QMRPs).
Employment Collaborations -Helping to create improved partnerships between services providers and businesses in order to increase the employment of people with disabilities