Positive Supports Newsletter June 30, 2023

Positive Supports Newsletter

June 30, 2023

Implementation Highlights

Organizations that have been participating in training with the Institute on Community Integration (ICI) have worked hard to show fidelity of implementation which means they can show evidence that they are using positive support practices in the manner intended. The tool these organizations have used is called the Tiered Onsite Evaluation Tool or TOET.

The organizations that did a TOET with ICI this year all demonstrated unique ways they are implementing positive supports. Check out some highlights below!

Communicate Successes!

These organizations had incredible communication strategies to get information out to communities, families, staff and other people of interest.

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YouTube channels with videos on a variety of topics
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Spring Training Videos On mnpsp.org

This spring, ICI hosted four training sessions and videos from these trainings are now available on the mnpsp.org homepage, right hand side, under resources.

Planning your DSP Positive Support Training Parts 1 & 2

This two part session featured a tour of the mnpsp.org website and it's resources. Training areas were briefly discussed and then attendees were given time to look at the website and fill out an Action Planning Tool for DSP Training; this tool was intended to organize resources and materials for DSP training in a variety of ways including at staff meetings, during onboarding, or during self- guided training.

Supporting Cultural Awareness and Responsiveness in Your System

This session focused on culturally responsive positive supports. Topics covered included cultural norms, values, and communication, cultural identify, implicit bias, and practicing empathy. An Action Planning Tool is included online with resources you can use to explore these topic areas more in-depth.

Positive Supports with Families

There was a lot of interest in using positive supports with families. At this session, the focus was on creating an individualized plan to use with your own family or those you work alongside. Included throughout the slides are highlights of resources found on mnpsp.org that are relevant to families; many of the resources are also used by organizations, but this training was focused through the lens of how to use them within a family situation. All resources are linked in the Action Planning Tool titled Positive Behavior Supports for Families Action Planning Tool.

Cohort Celebration Update!

The time to celebrate is drawing near! Both the MN Department of Human Services (DHS) and ICI are collaborating to celebrate all of the hard work, perseverance, and dedication organizations throughout the state that have provided positive supports to the people they serve.

The original plan had been to celebrate cohorts in June, however, some of the details are not quite ready yet, but they will be soon! We are preparing a variety of thank you items that will be awarded to organizations.

Recognition Activities and Items

Organizations/ counties will receive a range of acknowledgments based on the level of recognition awarded.

Level 1:

Recorded video message from a MN DHS representative
Organization or County name listed on the MNPSP website
Announcement of recognition in an upcoming Positive Supports Newsletter

Level 2 & 3:

Recorded video message from a MN DHS representative
Organization or County name listed on the MNPSP website
Announcement of recognition in an upcoming Positive Supports Newsletter

PLUS

A thank you letter from DHS
Multiple tangible items that can be given to each team member

Be on the lookout for more information soon on the Cohort Celebration planned for Summer 2023.

Resource Spotlight: Listening

All people listen every day. Even those with hearing differences focus in on information around them to gain understanding. Despite using this skill daily, many people do not practice the art of listening. A TEDx Talk called The Art of Listening by Kathleen Macferran explores this topic to give us a deeper understanding of how we can improve at this very important skill.

If you are looking to gain insight into this topic and try out some additional listening activities, check out our vetted resources on mnpsp.org in the positive social strategies section.