Extra Hours Available At The Group Home

If you are interested in working some extra part time hours or working as fill-in help at the Civitan Group Home, we have openings available.  Contact Darrell by phone or email if you would like to take advantage of these extra hours.

Darrell@civitanservices.com

Personal Errands

Please be reminded that staff members may not run personal errands while caring for Waiver clients.  There are no exceptions to this rule.  Waiver time is client time and may not be used for the errands of staff, including making a stop to pay bills, do personal shopping, picking up or dropping off family members, etc. 

It is also never appropriate to leave a client in a car unattended or waiting outside for any reason.  Please do not risk it, even if the client asks or agrees to wait in the car or wait outside.  You must be with your client AT ALL TIMES while on Waiver time.  It is never appropriate to leave the client alone and still claim that time on a Waiver timesheet.  There are no exceptions to this rule.

Thanks in advance for your cooperation.  Protect yourself and your clients by never letting there be any doubt that every hour on your timesheet is strictly client time.

Cell Phone Etiquette

Having your cell phone at work can be useful but it can also be very disruptive. Your friends and family can reach you anytime, anywhere, which can be annoying.

When you're on your own time, the choice to turn off your cell phone is entirely yours. When it comes to using your cell phone at work, however, you have to be mindful of your client and the client's family, not to mention your own ability to get your job done. Here are some rules you should follow if you have your cell phone at work.

1. Turn Your Cell Phone Ringer Off

If you have your cell phone at work, it shouldn't ring. If you don't want to turn off your cell phone completely, at least set it to vibrate. The sounds of different ring tones going off all the time can be very annoying to others. In addition, you don't want to draw attention to how often you get personal calls. 

2. Use Your Cell Phone Only for Important Calls

If you have your cell phone at work, you should only use it for important calls. What should you classify as an important call? The school nurse calling to say your child is ill, your child calling to say he's arrived home from school safely, and family emergencies that you must deal with immediately are important. Your friend calling to chat, your child calling to say the dog had an accident, or your mom calling to tell you your cousin is engaged should not be considered important.

3. Let Your Cell Phone Calls Go to Voice Mail

While you are at work if you are in doubt about whether an incoming call is important, let voice mail pick it up. It will take much less time to check your messages than it will to answer the call and then tell the caller you can't talk.

4. Find a Private Place to Make Cell Phone Calls

While it's okay to use your cell phone at work for private calls during breaks, don't make personal calls in front of clients or your client's family members. Find somewhere else to talk, where your conversation can't be overheard, even if what you're discussing isn't personal.  

5. Don't Bring Your Cell Phone to Meetings

In this day and age cell phones have become an essential work tool and therefore this rule should read "Don't Bring Your Cell Phone to Meetings If You Are Going to Use It for Anything Not Related to the Meeting." It's likely you have your calendar on your phone and you probably use it to take notes. If you need to have it with you for those reasons, then you don't have much of a choice. Do not use it to text, read or post status updates, or play games. Don't bury your nose in your phone. Keep your eyes on whomever is speaking and stay engaged in the meeting. Doing anything else will be a clear signal to your boss that your mind isn't 100 percent on the business at hand.

 

 

Source:  http://careerplanning.about.com/od/workplacesurvival/tp/cell_phone.htm

 

Resources In Arkansas

Resources available to persons with disabilities and their caregivers:

Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care

Arkansas Occupational Therapy Association

Arkansas Speech Language Hearing Association

Tardive Dyskinesia Center

Developmental Disabilities Provider Association

Working Disabled Program

Adaptive Equipment

Developmental Day Treatment Clinic Services (DDTCS)

Developmental Disability Respite Care

Alternatives for Adults with Physical Disabilities Program

Specialized Programs for Adults with Serious Mental Illness

Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP)

AR-GetCare Search


Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. --John Dewey

Mission Statement & Core Values

Mission Statement

Civitan Services provides quality educational and life skills training for people with developmental disabilities. We strive to make a positive impact in the lives of our clients and their families through specialized services and support offered in a safe, compassionate environment. We are committed to providing a facility and staff that will always meet the needs of people with disabilities in our community. Our ultimate objective is to help each person we serve maximize their potential for independence and become productive members of society. 

Core Values

Commitment
Resources
Growing
Innovative
Compassionate
Safe
Serving
Progressive
Caring
Adaptable

People First Language

Like gender and ethnicity, disability is a natural  part of life.  One in five Americans is a person with a disability.  One of the five apples in the bowl is green.  The green apple is more like the red apples than different, and a person with a disability is more like people without disabilities than different.

Words matter!  For too long, hurtful words have been used about people who have disabilities.  We can change how we think and talk and use People First Language:

Replace Handicapped/disabled with Person with disabilities
Replace Mental retardation with Cognitive disability
Replace "Mike is autstic" with "Mike has autism"
Replace "Joann is wheelchair-bound" with "Joann uses a wheelchair"
Replace "Steve is crippled" with "Steve has a physical disability"
Replace "Maria is mentally ill" with "Maria has a mental health condition"
Replace "Tyrone is non-verbal" with "Tyrone communicates with..."
Replace Handicapped Parking with Accessible Parking
Replace Brain Damaged with Brain injury
Replace Normal or healthy people with People without disabilities

Do not use the R-word (retard) or terms like idiot, imbecile, moron, psycho, lame, sped kid, special needs, or other disability labels as insults. 

Visit www.disabilityisnatural.com for more People First Language articles.

Crunch Time For Annual Training Hours

Civitan Services extends a sincere and hearty THANK YOU to all the Waiver staff who attended the mandatory annual training this past Saturday, April 20th.  We appreciate your willingness to help us meet the  number of annual training hours we are required to maintain for each of you in order keep our license in good standing.

 

Every staff member--including part time Waiver staff--must produce a minimum of 12 hours of training per year.  This is non-negotiable and cannot be excused.  These hours are due by June 2013.

 

For those of you who did not attend training on April 20th, please understand that your absence puts our license renewal in jeopardy if those training hours are not produced for you.  In the coming weeks please be prepared make up the hours you missed by providing documentation from any outside professional training you may have had since last June or be prepared to work with our Human Resources department to put in the extra training hours you need to make up the difference.  You should also expect possible disciplinary action for not showing up as required (unless you were specifically excused).

Possible sources of training hours that may be included:

CPR training or renewal training
First Aid training
Safe Driver training
Conferences and/or seminars that included Continuing Education credits
Webinars that included Continuing Education credits
Any documented training related to nursing or special education
Any on-the-job training performed for another employer that would apply to patient/client care, time management, specialized problem-solving, or goal-oriented education

Please be aware that all training hours must be documented by a certificate or some other form of proof of training completed.  If you have questions regarding training hours and/or what kind of training will qualify, please contact Steve in Human Resources. 

Thanks again to everyone for your help in keeping us well-trained and well-prepared for all our many regulatory inspections.  Your cooperation helps us succeed!

Mark Your Calendars For Annual Training

The date for our annual staff training day is Saturday, April 20th from 8 am to 4 pm.  You will need to reserve this day on your calendars since this training is mandatory--all Civitan Services employees must attend this training in order to complete our annual licensure requirements.  All staff members must have a minimum number of training hours logged each year.  If you do not attend this training you will not meet your minimum. 

 

New this year:  the training will be held at Holland Chapel's Family Life Center, 15523 I-30 in Benton.

There is NO MAKE-UP DAY for this training.  There are no exceptions made for this training.  Everyone must attend--no excuses!  This is also an important day to learn about policy changes, administrative changes, benefits, and legislative requirements that will affect your employment for the coming year.  If you have questions about annual training hours and requirements, please see Steve in Human Resources.

Peace, Love & 5k This Weekend

There is still time to register for the 2013 Peace, Love & 5K Run/Walk and 1-Mile Family Fun Run this Saturday, April 13, 2013.  

 

Printed entry forms are in Leigha’s office (Rm 210) or you can register and pay online at http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e6yqf9a38485ef18&llr=pemxuydab

Webinar Available This Friday

The Adult Services Department will be hosting a Webinar on Friday, April 12, 2013, from 11:00 – 1:00 pm in the Home Ec classroom at the Center. The subject will be: Effective Dialog Between Physicians and Primary Caregivers. This is of course dealing with adults with developmental disabilities that also have a mental health diagnosis. Please let Carrie know ASAP if you plan to attend.  CEUs will be issued for this webinar.

Positive Behavior Support Plans

Positive Behavior Support Plans (PBSP) are currently being written and implemented for some of our Waiver clients.  These are plans to help track and manage certain behavioral issues specific to each client's goals.  Not all clients will have a PBSP; only the clients who meet certain criteria.  We will discuss these plans in more detail at the annual retreat next week. 

 

For now, some Waiver employees have already received new Documentation Forms via email.  Others will notice new forms included with the next round of pay checks.  If you receive one of these new forms it means that a PBSP has been written for your client or is currently being written but may not be finished yet.  The new Documentation Form will work exactly like the old forms.  The only difference in the new form is a small area that will be used to document behaviors that are listed on the PBSP.  You may not encounter these behaviors every week.  If you don't notice the behaviors during the week, leave the new area blank.  You should only fill in the new area when the PBSP behaviors occur during the week you are documenting.

 

If you receive a new Documentation Form with your next pay check please begin using it immediately, even if you do not have a copy of the PBSP.  Please discard any old copies of the form.  If you need a copy of your client's PBSP please contact your client's Case Manager (Case Managers are Pat or Zack--not Darrell, Elaine, or Angela). 

 

If you have questions about the PBSP or need to discuss the behaviors in the plan, please contact your client's Case Manager.  Be advised that some plans are not ready yet but you should begin using the new forms so that you will be familiar with them once all plans have been distributed.

 

Again, if you do not receive a new form, it means that a PBSP does not apply to your client and you should continue on with your current forms.

 

Thanks again for everything you do to help us improve the way we serve our clients!

 

 

DDPA Spring Conference

Developmental Disabilities Provider Association’s (DDPA) 2013 Annual Spring Conference on April 23 & 24.

We are extending the REGISTRATION DEADLINE to APRIL 3, 2013 at NOON for any last-minute additions!

We will have a full house again this year, so please use this last opportunity to register if you have not yet done so. We have an incredible speaker line-up prepared for you, over 30 exhibitors for your review, and a special DDPA room block with fantastic hotel rates.

This is the PREMIER TRAINING EVENT for Arkansas community providers serving adults and children with developmental disabilities!

Also, come join us for the new “pre-conference” on Monday, April 22 – a Health & Wellness Seminar with cutting-edge information on the practical implications of health and disability policies with regards to the Medicaid program, the Affordable Care Act, and Community First Choice Act. We will also have timely information on healthy shopping and cooking on a Food Stamp budget, and a special presentation by Easter Seals on their interactive/adaptive curriculum for health, nutrition, and wellness.

 

The Spring Conference will follow with a stellar line-up of speakers targeting administrative, human resource, adult direct service and children’s direct service tracks in addition to the latest on Medicaid Reform, the Affordable Care Act, and DDPA’s legislative priorities.

 

All this and much, much more is waiting for you! And don’t forget – your registration includes entrance to DDPA’s Provider Party where you will have an additional opportunity to network with others in your field.

 

 

 

Beth Lain

Office Manager & Training Coordinator

Developmental Disabilities Provider Association (DDPA)

2020 West 3^rd Street, Suite 301

Little Rock, AR 72205-4464

(501) 907-5337 phone

(501) 907-5338 fax

ddpa@arkansasddpa.org

www.arkansasddpa.org