DDTI

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About Us

The Developmental Disabilities Training Institute (DDTI), within the Jordan Institute for Families in the UNC-CH School of Social Work, works to share knowledge, skills, and foster improvements of services and supports for persons with developmental disabilities in North Carolina in a variety of ways. This goal is currently accomplished through providing community based training events, technical assistance, and the development of training tools including:

"Person Centered" training events,

Personal Outcomes Measures Training,

Training for Medicaid Service Definitions,

Annual conference focused on developmental disabilities,

A variety of media training tools, consisting of:

Becoming a Guardian (available in Spanish)
- This VHS tape is designed specifically for potential or current guardians. It provides a review of important considerations when contemplating guardianship and describes the court proceedings from the standpoint of the petitioner.

The Guardianship Process
- This VHS is designed specifically for clerks and assistant clerks of the superior court to provide an overview of the guardianship proceedings, including an update of the new limited guardianship legislation. This is an excellent tool for new clerks or assistant clerks and will also serve as a refresher for more experienced clerks and assistant clerks.

Access to Justice
- This DVD addresses the issues of accessibility of our court system for people with disabilities pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Guardianship Trainers DVD
- This DVD is designed specifically for those who conduct training in the area of guardianship.

1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s

A Brief History of the Institute

DDTI was initially established in 1963 as the Mental Retardation Training Institute (MRTI) by the North Carolina General Assembly to be a statewide training organization to increase the knowledge and skills of people working with mental retardation individuals. That was a time when services for people with developmental disabilities were virtually non-existent.

DDTI staff from the early years

The Institute was originally housed at Murdoch Center, a regional residential facility, and was tied to The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Psychology Department. Eventually, due to its public service and outreach activities, DDTI was placed administratively in the Division of Continuing Education of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. On July 1, 2006, DDTI's administrative and organizational placement within the University changed from The Friday Center for Continuing Education to the Jordan Institute for Families in the School of Social Work. In the four decades that the Institute has been in existence, the nature and content of training has changed with advances in knowledge, service practices, and prevailing issues in the field. In several instances, DDTI has introduced new ideas and forward thinkers to the people of North Carolina, helping to push our service system forward to meet the needs of the population.

1960s

Much of the work of the Training Institute in the 1960s emphasized the training of rehabilitation counselors, as this was a period during which most state vocational rehabilitation agencies began to provide services for adults with mental retardation, and few counselors were prepared to do so. The Institute served Federal Regions III and IV, which at that time included the territory between Pennsylvania, Florida, Kentucky, and Mississippi, as well as Puerto Rico. An innovative six-week graduate course, comprised of two week segments spaced six months apart, prepared hundreds of counselors annually to work more effectively with adults with mental retardation. Within North Carolina, the Institute assisted communities in all regions of the state to develop interagency councils and local plans to develop services for individuals with mental retardation.

1970s

During the 1970s, the Institute continued to train rehabilitation personnel and added new training programs to meet the needs of staff working in other developing community-based programs, including newly developing community residential programs and adult vocational programs. Consistent with changes at the national level, the Institute changed its name to the Developmental Disabilities Training Institute (DDTI). The Institute also incorporated the principle of "normalization" as the foundation for its work. Consequently, the Institute became more active in such areas as program evaluation and technical assistance to state and local agencies involved in service development initiatives. During these years, the Institute piloted a unique curriculum for direct service staff working in residential programs that could be taught in a semester in a community college. Institute staff also developed and provided training related to sexuality and sex education for people with developmental disabilities. During the 1970s, the Institute began to concentrate its efforts on the training of staff working in services in North Carolina, although it continued to be available to other states on a limited basis. Finally, DDTI conducted a statewide study of people living in various long-term residential services and facilities, highlighting the fact that large numbers of individuals with developmental disabilities had been reinstitutionalized in nursing homes and rest homes.

1980s

The Institute continued to be heavily involved in training in the area of normalization, both in North Carolina and in other states on request. During the 1980s, DDTI conducted studies and training related to the development and management of community-based service systems. Through special projects, DDTI studied various service systems, including North Carolina's "Area Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Authorities" and North Carolina's "Training Schools" for Juvenile Offenders. DDTI also assumed a major role in collaborating with state agencies and organizations to develop "supported employment" in North Carolina. In 1988, DDTI undertook a national study of "best practices" in integrative employment services with funding from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities. During this same period, DDTI also conducted a national study of "single portal" of entry/exit from human services for the North Carolina United Way, and instituted training related to "Non-Aversive" Behavioral Intervention and "Gentle Teaching." DDTI continued to be heavily involved in the development of supported employment and transition from school to work projects in North Carolina.

1990s

In the early 1990s, DDTI continued much of the work started in the 1980s, completing the "Best Practices" Study and publishing two monographs: "The Best Practices Manual" and "Outstanding Integrative Employment Agencies: Creativity, Leadership & Commitment." During the early 1990s, DDTI published a "Sex Education and Social Skills Training Curriculum" for use with individuals with developmental disabilities. DDTI also undertook a project to assist the NC Council on Developmental Disabilities to develop a long-range plan for services and supports for persons with developmental disabilities for the state. The "Comprehensive Plan for Services and Supports for Persons with Developmental Disabilities" was endorsed by the NC General Assembly in August of 1993. As a result of its work, DDTI was funded to conduct training and technical assistance activities in support of the implementation of the DD plan. This annual project enabled the Institute to work on the priorities of the DD Plan in concert with the state's DD Services Section. Training in many different areas was provided. Study tours to other states for community administrators illustrated the impact and power of person-centered planning on state systems. In North Carolina, the focus of training involved the development of a "single portal" process in every community of the state that clarified for families and consumers how services and supports could be accessed. As a recommendation of the DD Plan, this approach was given the force of law through legislative action. In addition, DDTI under other projects in connection with the Thomas S. Services Section, conducted training in the Personal Outcomes Measures of the Council on Quality and Leadership and Social Role Valorization.

2000s

DDTI has focused on the inclusion of people with developmental (and other) disabilities in all aspects of community life through person-centered thinking and planning. Building on its work with the state's Personal Outcomes Measures, DDTI has incorporated Essential Lifestyle Planning, Circles of Support, and the PATH models of person-centered planning as options. DDTI maintains approximately 50 approved trainers distributed across North Carolina who can conduct overviews and three-day courses in one or more of these approaches. The PCP Trainers include state employees, senior administrators of agencies and organizations at the cutting edge of service development, professionals, and parents. DDTI provides support to these trainers, and conducts training under a contractual arrangement with the NC Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilties, and Substance Abuse Services (NC DMH/DD/SAS). DDTI has supported DMH/DD/SAS efforts with workforce development initiatives, assisted in preparing a training pool to conduct training of the Medicaid Service Definitions and CAP MR/DD, and has conducted an annual statewide Best Practices Conference focused on developmental disabilities. DDTI has also, in partnership with the Governors Advocacy Council for Persons with Disabilities, produced educational videotapes about guardianship and alternatives to guardianship consistent with our mission to pursue approaches that result in the full participation of people with developmental disabilities in all aspects of their communities. DDTI also continued efforts in promoting "inclusive arts," successfully conducting two “Arts for ALL” conferences and securing two grants with the North Carolina Humanities Council. Organizationally, DDTI became a part of the Jordan Institute for Families, School of Social Work, UNC-CH on July 1, 2006.