Texas Association for Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies — Positive Behavioral Supports Project

Statewide Need

Behavioral issues are cited as a key factor in limiting more inclusive and independent opportunities for many individuals with developmental disabilities (DD). Behaviors too frequently result in the use of inappropriate, intrusive or restrictive measures. Positive Behavioral Supports (PBS) focus on utilizing empirically proven, positive techniques to enable individuals to reach their goals, while preventing unnecessary restrictive actions. Schools, community provider organizations, parents and advocates indicate there is a lack of well-trained individuals working in this field, though efforts are currently underway to correct this.

Project Goal
Recruit, train, and assist child care providers, parents, schools, community service agencies and other interested individuals who work with children with DD in the area of PBS to ensure full integration and inclusion and positive quality of life experiences.

Project Summary
The Texas Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies’ (TACCRRA) PBS project recruited trainees looking to specializing in PBS and offered train the trainer (TOT) sessions to interested individuals. Eighteen separate TOT sessions were offered in 11 cities across Texas. On many occasions, individuals traveled from other parts of the state to attend sessions. Two hundred and sixty individuals went on to attend TACCRRA’s PBS Specialist Trainings, while others attended only the TOT sessions. The attendees came from a variety of professions, including child care providers, Head-Start workers, the Child Care Resource and Referral Agency, school districts, Education Service Centers, non-profit organizations, state government and private consultants.

Once the PBS specialists returned to their respective organizations, they trained others in the effective implementation of PBS and worked with teams to develop behavior support plans for children with challenging behaviors to increase statewide opportunities for successful inclusion of children with DD.

A one-day PBS refresher course was developed for the fourth and fifth year of the grant to act as a review of the previously discussed ideas, as well as to deepen the understanding of PBS for those who were already certified as TACCRRA PBS specialists.

• Impact
  
  • 260 individuals were trained as TACCRRA PBS Specialists
    • PBS Specialists were able to train others in their organization to implement PBS for positive behavioral outcomes
  • 18 TOT sessions held in 11 cities across Texas
  • PBS workshops were held at over 20 conference