Project Description:
The College of Health and Human Services at CSULA houses several major degree programs for students who are interested in entering the human service workforce and has strong relationships with other schools and colleges (e.g., Charter College of Education, College of Natural and Social Sciences), to facilitate opportunities across many degree programs within CSULA. The specific intent of this Minor in DD is to prepare a workforce who has competence in working with individuals with developmental disabilities across the lifespan and their families, because regardless of the field or discipline of practice, with the national movement to close large congregate institutions for people with disabilities, human service personnel will encounter and be expected to serve this population.
The extensive spectrum of delivery systems mirrors the broad complexity of the condition, and requires professionals representing multiple disciplines to provide services to a heterogeneous population varying in cognitive, psycho-social, behavioral, and psychomotor needs. The proposed Developmental Disabilities minor degree program will prepare highly qualified personnel to populate the enterprise specific to supporting individuals with special needs across the lifespan. It will serve as a pathway to scaffold students from their major degree programs into the developmental disabilities delivery system. Students will acquire disability-specific knowledge, values and principles which drive services, be exposed to and develop beginning skills to serve individuals with DD and their families, and explore professions in the DD field as they consider and plan their career pathway.
The intersection of disability and race/ethnicity can have a multiplicative effect on the developmental and life outcomes of individuals with DD who are also members of racial, ethnic, and linguistically diverse populations. There is a national need to diversify the DD workforce with professionals who reflect the ethnic diversity of the people they serve. CSULA is uniquely able to address this need due to their diverse student population which can contribute significantly to balancing the diversity of the developmental disabilities workforce. As well as developing workforce candidates who possess the capacity to effectively design, deliver, lead, and advocate for service programming, the proposed Developmental Disabilities minor degree program will also yield professionals whose diverse cultural and ethnic demographics mirror that of impacted populations. The proposed Developmental Disabilities Minor degree program will serve the professional interests of students, the existing delivery systems workforce, and advance the mission of CSULA The partnership CSULAs CHHS has with the USC UCEDD will launch this Minor in DD and assure its sustainability beyond this initial funding.
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances, Geographic Areas
