ADRC/No Wrong Door Key Principles Certificate Program
Registration will open on February 15, 2024.
The comprehensive certificate program is designed to enable those working in Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) to gain the knowledge and skills needed to meet the challenges of this changing system of service. This Certificate focuses on the key skills needed to work in ADRCs, including a comprehensive course on Options Counseling to support individuals’ choice, self-determination, and participation in utilizing a range of community resources, and a course on working with people who have mental health concerns, a growing area of focus in our aging population.
This five-course certificate program should take 22 hours to complete and carries 22 CEs. Learners registering for this certificate program will be expected to complete all five online courses in a set order. The list of required courses is listed below.
Course 1: Core Issues in Aging and Disability (6 hours, 6 CEs)
This two-part course provides information that will help you understand how disability and age can affect a person’s quality of life. Underlying this information is the philosophy that all people are individuals with personal and cultural experiences that impact how they think about themselves and the world they live in. Additional information about this course is available here.
Course 2: A Guide to the Aging and Disability Networks (4 hours, 4 CEs)
This course is intended to acquaint workers with the variety of services available to older adults and people with disabilities through programs funded and supported by federal and state governments and administered by states and local agencies. By the conclusion of this course, you should understand the key resources in the aging and disability networks and the eligibility requirements for participation in these programs. Additional information about this course is available here.
Course 3: Assessment of Older Adults and Persons with Disabilities (4 hours, 4 CEs)
Assessment, as discussed in this course, is the process that unfolds as you and the consumer work together to find solutions to the consumer’s long-term services and support needs. For you, assessment means uncovering the physical, mental, emotional, familial, and social conditions that might be acting as barriers to full participation in the person’s life. For the consumer, it means placing trust in another person’s ability to help them find the resources they need to live full and productive lives. Additional information about this course is available here.
Course 4: Mental Health Training in Options Counseling (4 hours, 4 CEs)
This course is designed to help options counselors provide information and resources to consumers who can then make choices about services that support a self-defined quality of life. Options counselors are not expected or trained to diagnose or assess individuals with mental health issues. However, it is important for options counselors to understand mental health issues in a historical context, be familiar with language used to describe psychiatric issues, know the various perspectives on mental health, and recognize self-determination as a human right. Additional information about this course is available here.
Course 5: Understanding Consumer Control, Person-Centered Planning, and Self-Direction (4 hours, 4 CEs)
This course is designed to help workers more fully understand the definition and meaning of person- centered planning, consumer control, consumer choice, and consumer direction and the practice of this approach and philosophy. This course will also review historical developments of consumer control, legal mandates and provide scenarios throughout. This course relies heavily on interactive exercises and scenarios to help you understand consumer control, person-centered planning, and self-direction in a real-life context. Additional information about this course is available here.
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