Education

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Ph.D. in Educational Psychology                                July 1997

University of Minnesota, Master of Arts in Educational Psychology May 1989

Bethel College, Arden Hills, Minnesota, BA in Psychology and Elementary Education        May 1985

Employment

University of Minnesota, Research and Training Center on Community Living, Research Director,               

Research Associate, Research Fellow and Research Assistant:            

1987 - Present                                                                                                    

October 1985-January 1988

Dakota County Social Services, Social Worker:                                                           August 1988-October 1988

Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis, Inc., Legal Advocacy for Persons with Developmental Disabilities

Independent Consultant:  January 1988-September 1988

Merrick Companies Inc., Behavior Analyst:   October 1985-January 1988

Lake Owasso Residence, Residential Counselor I:    December 1981-March 1986

Selected Professional Service Activities and Recognitions

President, Community Services Division, AAMR, May 2004 - May 2006

Consulting Editor, Mental Retardatio, June 1993 - Present

Editorial Consultant, Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, October 2002 - Present

Guest Editor, Research in Social Science and Disability, Sept. 2000 - Present

Presidential Award, American Association on Mental Retardation, May 2001

Fellow, American Association on Mental Retardation, June 2004

Selected GRANTS and CONTRACTS

Hewitt, A.S., & Larson, S.A. (Principal Investigators).  The Illinois comprehensive workforce development initiative to achieve improved individual outcomes for citizens with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  June 1, 2004 to May 31, 2007.  $300,000 per year.  Funded by the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities.

Larson, S.A. & Hewitt, A. (Principal Investigators).  Removing the revolving door:  A research based technique to resolve the staffing crisis in community supports to people with disabilities.  October 1, 2003 - September 30, 2006.  $150,000 per year.  ED/OSERS/National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research Field Initiated Research Competition.

Larson, S.A., & Hewitt, A. (Principal Investigators).  Staff Retention Strategies Project.  External Sales Agreement.  May 1, 2002 - December 31, 2002.  $4,117.  Hennepin County, Department of Training and Employment Assistance.

Larson, S.A., & Lakin, K.C. (Principal Investigators).  Secondary analyses of persons with developmental disabilities in the 1994-1995 Disability Supplement to the National Health Interview Survey.  August 1, 2002 - July 31, 2005.  $135,670 Year 1, $140,139 Year 2, $140,349 Year 3.  Funded by ED/OSERS/National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Field-Initiated Competition. No cost extension to July 31, 2006.

Selected Publications (98 total)

Barnartt, S., Altman, B., Hendershot, G., and Larson, S.A. (Eds.).  (2003).  Disability research within the NHIS-D:  The results of a user's conference.  Research in Social Sciences and Disability, (Vol. 3).  Oxford, England: Elsevier Ltd.

Hewitt, A.S., Larson, S.A., Lakin, K.C., Sauer, J., O'Nell, S. & Sedlezky, L.  (2004). The Roles and Essential Competencies of the Frontline Supervisors of Direct Support Professionals in Community Services. Mental Retardation, 42, 122-135.

Lakin, K.C., Hewitt, A., Larson, S.A., & Stancliffe, R.J. (2005).  Home and community-based services:  Costs, utilization and outcomes.  In R.J. Stancliffe & K.C. Lakin (Eds.).  Costs and outcomes of community services for people with intellectual disabilities (pp. 91-127).  Baltimore:  Paul H. Brookes.

Larson, S.A., & Hewitt, A.S. (Eds., 2005).  Staff recruitment, retention and training strategies for community human services organizations.  Baltimore:  Paul H. Brookes Publishing, Co.

Larson, S.A., Hewitt, A.S., & Lakin, K.C. (2004).  A multi-perspective analysis of the effects of recruitment and retention challenges on outcomes for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.  American Journal on Mental Retardation, 109, 481-500. 

Larson, S.A., Lakin, K.C., Anderson, L, Kwak, N., Lee, J.H., Anderson, D. (2001).  Prevalence of mental retardation and developmental disabilities: Estimates from the 1994/1995 National Health Interview Survey Disability Supplements. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 106, 231-252.

Larson, S.A., Lakin, K.C., & Bruininks, R.H. (1998).  Staff Recruitment and Retention: Study Results and Intervention Strategies.  Washington, DC: American Association on Mental Retardation.

Stancliffe, R., Hayden, M.F., Larson, S.A., & Lakin, K.C. (2002).  Longitudinal study on the adaptive and challenging behaviors of deinstitutionalized adults with mental retardation.  American Journal on Mental Retardation, 107, 302-320.

Selected Presentations (71 national/international; 86 state or local) 

Larson, S.A. (2004).  National data sets in the United States.  Montpellier, FR:  Presentation at the Tri-Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Intellectual Disabilities.

Larson, S.A., Lakin, K.C., Huang, J., & Doljanac, R. (June, 2004).  Age, Gender and Disability Type Differences In Service Use And Needs For Adults Analyses of the NHIS-D.  Philadelphia:  AAMR.

Larson, S.A., (June, 2004).  Improving Staff Retention through Recruitment and Hiring Practices.  Montpellier, France:  Presentation at the Tri-Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Intellectual Disabilities.

Larson, S.A. (June, 2004).  Expenditure patterns in home and community based waiver settings (HCBS) in Minnesota.  Montpellier, France:  Presentation at the Tri-Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Intellectual Disabilities.

Larson, S.A., (June, 2004).  Access to health care.  In W. Nehring (Moderator).  Health Promotion for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: The State of Scientific Evidence Philadelphia, PA:  Pre-conference workshop at the Annual Meeting of the American Association on Mental Retardation. (100 attendees)

Larson, S.A. (November, 2004).  Using Realistic Job Previews to Reduce Turnover/ Finding People to Work:  Effective Recruitment Strategies for Direct Support Professionals.  Melbourne, Australia.  RMIT University and Australian Society for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disability. (40 attendees).

Larson, S.A. (November, 2004).  Removing the Revolving Door: Strategies to Address Recruitment and Retention Challenges.  Keynote address.  4th Disability Support Worker Conference.  Melbourne, Australia.  RMIT University and Australian Society for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disability. (300 attendees).

Larson, S.A. (November, 2004).  Web based training for direct support professionals and supervisors.  Workshop.  4th Disability Support Worker Conference.  Melbourne, Australia.  RMIT University and Australian Society for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disability. (80 attendees).

Larson, S.A. (November, 2004).  Professionalizing Direct Support Roles. Workshop.  4th Disability Support Worker Conference.    Melbourne, Australia.  RMIT University and Australian Society for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disability. (70 attendees, 35 attendees).

Larson, S.A. (November, 2004).  Access to Health Care for people with Intellectual Disabilities Workshop.  4th Disability Support Worker Conference.    Melbourne, Australia.  RMIT University and Australian Society for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disability. (100 attendees).

Larson, S.A., (2005, May 12).  Using Realistic Job Previews to Improve Retention.  St. Paul, MN:  Workshop at the 2005 conference of the Association of Residential Resources in Minnesota. (30 participants).