ACDS is partnering with the Alberta Disability Workers Association (ADWA) on this project. To help the development team, we've put together a survey (click here) asking how you currently use apps on your mobile devices, what critical information you'd like to see in a safety app, desired features and asking for some information about your workplace. Please take a few minutes to complete it and pass the link along to your staff and colleagues. The survey will close on June 17.

Training and Development Update

Featured success stories from the closing plenary, and presentation materials are now available on the ACDS website, and the Community of Practice.


We have all heard the expression "Walking the Talk!" Are you getting real value from your training? Is new learning being applied on the job and are individuals achieving great outcomes? This framework will be of particular interested to Tutors, Mentors, Supervisors and Trainers, working with the Foundations In Community Disability Studies program, or anyone looking to achieve great results from their training investments.

Training is still "on trial," charged with incurring expenses in excess of the value it provides to the organization. Training must reinvent itself and transcend the classroom. Attend this thought-provoking session to learn how to structure initiatives so they enhance on-the-job performance and impact the bottom line.

 

After this session, you will be able to:

• Explain why starting with desired results in mind is critical for any initiative to be successful
• List specific tactics for influencing on-the-job behavior
• Identify elements of a program plan that enhance on-the-job behavior and bottom-line results

October 14, 2016.
Registration opens soon at ACDS.ca. Click here for the event poster.

Workforce Update

Edmonton - Workforce Classification System, Information Session

Accreditation Update

Policy and Form Templates

ACDS members have suggested we create sample policy and form templates for each of the CET indicators that ask for one or the other. Standards and Accreditation (S&A) is ready to get this project underway ... with your help.

 

Benefits of this Project

• Service providers will have policy that meets the key points required by CET
• Service providers will get ideas for improving their existing forms
• Staff, including those who do not have English as a first language, will have policy they can understand and follow
• Staff's time will be freed up by using forms that are uncluttered and focused
• Service providers and staff can develop a solid understanding of human resources and the workplace
• Individuals will be given services that follow best practice and contribute to quality of life

You are the Best Source of Information

CET surveys show that many of you already use forms and have policy that are informative, written in clear language, and highlights the key points required by CET. We are asking you, as mentors and fellow workers in Community Disability Services, to let S&A use your forms, policies and best practices as a starting point for creating our templates.

 

You can tell us you are interested

by sending a message to accred@acds.ca with the subject line, "Policy and Form Examples." We will connect with you and, together, determine the best way for us to collect your examples.

Call for Participation 

What are you calling me to join?

• ACDS has openings for representatives on its  
•  Accreditation Council and
• Commission on Accreditation

Are there any specific criteria to serve on the Accreditation Council

• Representatives need to be (or work for) ACDS Members 

How much commitment is needed?

• The Accreditation Council meets 4 times a year
• Council members need to commit:
• to being liaisons and
• to gathering information about their regions to bring with them to the meetings
• Meetings can be in-person, although many representatives choose to join via teleconference

What does the Commission on Accreditation do?

• The Commission on Accreditation is arms-length from ACDS
• Commission members:
• Review and render decisions on Creating Excellence Together (CET) Accreditation Level 2 site survey reports for organizations that serve within Community Disability Services
• Provide organizations suggestions or recommendations to address any areas that need to be brought into compliance with the CET Accreditation Level 2 Standards

Are there any specific criteria to serve on the Commission?

• Representatives need to be from organizations that have achieved CET Accreditation Level 2
• We are also keen to get representatives who are guardians of individuals with developmental disabilities

How much commitment is needed?

• The Commission may meet as frequently as once per month
• Meetings can be in-person, although many representatives choose to join via teleconference
• Every Commission member needs to review the CET Accreditation Level 2 report prior to the meeting so as to be prepared to ask questions or raise any concerns 

How do I let you know I am interested in one of these committees?

• Contact Corinne Thomas, Senior Accreditation Coordinator
• by phone at 403-250-9495 Ext. 231
• by email at accred@acds.ca 

Feel free to share this invitation with people you know who meet the criteria and
have an interest in the direction, focus and promotion of standards and accreditation.

News, Events and Links

Nursing Homes and Home Care Regulations Review

"Alberta Health is undertaking a review of continuing care regulations that are expiring in 2017. The regulations under review as part of the Nursing Homes and Home Care Regulations review include the:

Minimum Wage Consultations

"As a valued stakeholder with an identified interest in Alberta's minimum wage, you are invited to participate in these consultations.  The purpose of the sessions will be to discuss experiences with the minimum wage increases since October 1, 2015, gather input on appropriate monitoring and evaluation indicators and to discuss the use of weekly and monthly minimum wages.

 

We are holding two meetings in Edmonton and one meeting in Calgary, all with the same agenda for discussion.  Seating will be limited and we expect significant interest, so please register early.  For more information and to register, please see https://ers.humanservices.alberta.ca/es-mwc.aspx.

 

The full-day meetings will involve facilitated discussions, so we ask that organizations plan to send only one appropriate representative for this purpose.  Unregistered individuals will not be permitted to attend.  Materials for the meetings will be provided to you in advance.

 

For inquires related to the consultation, please email email MinWage.Review@gov.ab.ca"

Best Practices for FASD Service Delivery 

"This document is intended to provide guidance for individuals and agencies working with clients with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and their families. Together as a single source, a best practice guide and evaluation tool kit are provided for use by agencies and their staff. There are two anticipated uses for this resource:

1) to assess current service delivery by providing indicators and outcomes that can be measured to inform practice improvements;
2) to inform future service offerings by supplying a framework on which to develop policy and practices."
Click to Download 

The ACDS Umbrella is a publication of the