Projects

   Advancing students toward education & employment (Astep)

Advancing Students Toward Education and Employment Program (ASTEP) is a 2 to 3-year transition and postsecondary education program for students with intellectual disabilities (ID). ASTEP is located on the campus of Minot State University in collaboration with the satellite Dakota College at Bottineau (DCB) campus located at MSU. The program is coordinated by the North Dakota Center for Persons with Disabilities. Eligible students have the opportunity to achieve their goals in an inclusive and supportive college environment. A plan of study is developed through a person-centered planning process including career, academic, social, community and independent living goals.

• PRIMARY CORE FUNCTION:   Other Direct / Model Services
• PRIMARY EMPHASIS AREA:    Education / Early Intervention
• PROJECT DIRECTOR: Tracey Olson, tracey.olson.1@minotstateu.edu

Building Bridges: Enhancing Local Programs for Children with Disabilities

The “Building Bridges” project aims to foster a culture of inclusive care and support for children with disabilities in community-based childcare, before/after school programs, and social programs through training, resource utilization, and technical assistance. This will be achieved by engaging community agencies alongside NDCPD staff in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) training activities, including creating a community of practice where agencies come together to problem-solve, share best practices, and learn to create inclusive environments for children with disabilities within their respective programs.

• PRIMARY CORE FUNCTION:   Community Training
• PRIMARY EMPHASIS AREA:    Education / Early Intervention
• PROJECT DIRECTOR: Shelby Clark, shelby.l.clark@minotstateu.edu

Community Staff Training Program

For over 30 years, ND has provided a module training curriculum to ND Developmental Disability Service Providers through a contract with the ND Department of Health and Human Services, DD Division. Regional Staff Trainers, employed by the DD service providers, deliver the module training along with a series of field-based practica. The CSTP offers regional workshops and webinars specific to interests of the community-based providers.

• PRIMARY CORE FUNCTION:   Community Training
• PRIMARY EMPHASIS AREA:    Quality Assurance
• PROJECT DIRECTOR: Kari Schmidt, kari.schmidt@minotstateu.edu

  Project ECHO

The purpose of NDCPD’s ECHO series is to move knowledge, not people. NDCPD works to create a multidisciplinary Hub-Team of subject matter experts to develop curricula on various issues impacting people with disabilities. It is our goal to provide cost-effective professional development that increases participant capacity in underserved areas by equipping them with evidence-based practices and providing access to specialty consultation, resulting in reduced variations in care.

• PRIMARY CORE FUNCTION:   Continuing Education / Community Training
• PROJECT DIRECTOR: Krista Opstedal, krista.opstedal@minotstateu.edu

Find Safe II

The Find Safe program works in conjunction with Project Lifesaver, North Dakota law enforcement, and first responders. The Find Safe goals are to collaborate with and support law enforcement and public safety agencies in their efforts to reduce and prevent injuries and deaths of missing individuals with dementia or developmental disabilities.

• • PRIMARY CORE FUNCTION:   Continuing Education / Community Training
  • PRIMARY EMPHASIS AREA:  Quality of Life
  • PROJECT DIRECTOR: Vanessa Rovig, Vanessa.Rovig@minotstateu.edu

Learn the Signs Act Early Ambassador

“Learn the Signs Act Early” supports improving early identification of developmental delays and disabilities including Autism. The program aims to serve North Dakota in supporting parents in the monitoring of development and access to services for their children.

• PRIMARY CORE FUNCTION:   Continuing Education / Community Training
• PRIMARY EMPHASIS AREA:    Education / Early Intervention
• PROJECT DIRECTOR: Brooke Rosenau, brooke.l.rosenau@minotstateu.edu

Minot Infant Development Program (MIDP)

This project identifies infants (birth-3) who are developmentally delayed, high risk, or at risk. In addition, this contract provides for in-home programming and infant stimulation activities for eligible children.

• PRIMARY CORE FUNCTION:   Continuing Education / Community Training
• PRIMARY EMPHASIS AREA:    Education / Early Intervention
• PROJECT DIRECTOR: Rebecca Foster, rebecca.d.foster@minotstateu.edu

  Money Follows the Person Housing Program

This project seeks 1) to develop and maintain an effective, consumer-directed, accessible and comprehensive housing resource system for persons wishing to transition to the community from an institutional level of care and for persons at risk of institutionalization; 2) to effectively reduce the stigma of persons with disabilities or the aging population statewide, while working to change community attitudes and misconceptions regarding community housing for persons with disabilities or aging persons; and 3) to assist in the statewide effort to develop and expand the number of safe, affordable, accessible, quality and permanent housing options.

• PRIMARY CORE FUNCTION:   Other Direct Services
• PRIMARY EMPHASIS AREA:   Housing
• PROJECT DIRECTOR:  Cheryl Merck, cheryl.merck@minotstateu.edu

ND CREATE: Customized Employment and Technical Assistance

ND CREATE’s Customized Employment Technical Assistance Program is designed to support employment agencies in developing high-performing customized employment services.  Our staff and project associates have a diverse set of skills and experiences to meet a wide range of technical assistance needs. The goal of our project is to improve career outcomes for job seekers who want to improve their employment status with increased hours, higher job satisfaction, and/or increased pay and benefits. We will do this by providing consultation to community rehabilitation providers so that job seekers can be supported by their customized employment consultant to complete an Initial Discovery Action Plan that will eventually lead to gainful employment.

• PRIMARY CORE FUNCTION:  Technical Assistance
• PRIMARY EMPHASIS AREA:   Employment
• PROJECT DIRECTOR: Michele Burney, michele.burney@minotstateu.edu

  ND Dual Sensory Project (State & Federal Funds)

The North Dakota Dual Sensory Project will provide training and technical assistance to educators, early interventionists, schools, state education, and related services providers regarding systemic and individualized supportive services for children and youth with deaf-blindness. Outcomes include training and technical assistance on transition, early identification, numeracy and literacy, family engagement, and an accurate census. Children with deaf-blindness will have improved educational programs, increased skills, and increased time in inclusive settings. Families will have increased knowledge and will be active participants in their children’s education. Educators will have increased skills to provide a quality education for children with deaf-blindness.

• PRIMARY CORE FUNCTION:   Technical Assistance
• PRIMARY EMPHASIS AREA:    Education / Early Intervention
• PROJECT DIRECTOR: Lacey Long, lacey.long@minotstateu.edu

  ND EHDI

This project works towards reducing the loss to follow-up after failure to pass newborn hearing screenings in ND. ND is identifying, treating and referring fewer infants with hearing loss than expected based on national incidence levels. Onsite training, technical assistance, public awareness, data analysis and infrastructure support are key features of this project.

• PRIMARY CORE FUNCTION:   Technical Assistance
• PRIMARY EMPHASIS AREA:    Health
• PROJECT DIRECTOR: Jerusha Olthoff, jerusha.olthoff@minotstateu.edu

  ND EHDI-IS

ND has an EHDI (Early Hearing Detection Intervention) program which collects unduplicated individual identifiable data on every occurring birth thru the EHDI process. Despite this system, barriers of redundancy continue to exist. This EHDI-IS project will focus on reducing the duplicate data entry burden and reduce rates of loss to recommended follow-up services.

• PRIMARY CORE FUNCTION:   Technical Assistance
• PRIMARY EMPHASIS AREA:    Health
• PROJECT DIRECTOR: Jerusha Olthoff, jerusha.olthoff@minotstateu.edu

   ND Inclusive Model Pathways Training Consortium (IMPCCT)

The ND Inclusive Model Pathways for College and Career Training (IMPCCT) Consortium will provide training and technical assistance to build capacity for expanded college options and high school transition services that sufficiently prepare students with intellectual disabilities for college success. The IMPCCT Consortium will work with institutions of higher education in ND to develop inclusive PSE programs to incorporate inclusive college course work, career development, self-determination, independent living and pre-employment skills training and campus inclusion.

• PRIMARY CORE FUNCTION:   Technical Assistance
• PRIMARY EMPHASIS AREA:    Education
• PROJECT DIRECTOR: Tracey Olson, tracey.olson.1@minotstateu.edu

   ND NAVIGATORS

The North Dakota Center for Persons with Disabilities (NDCPD), a Center of Excellence at Minot State University, has been awarded from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement the statewide Navigator project. Federally-facilitated Marketplace Navigators play a vital role in helping consumers, especially those in underserved communities, understand their benefits and rights, review options, prepare applications to establish eligibility, and enroll in Marketplace coverage.

Navigators operate year-round—increasing awareness among the remaining uninsured about the coverage options available to them, helping consumers find affordable coverage that meets their needs, and assisting consumers beyond the enrollment process to ensure they’re equipped with the tools and resources needed to utilize and maintain their health coverage all year.

• PRIMARY CORE FUNCTION:   Community Training
• PRIMARY EMPHASIS AREA:    Health
• PROJECT DIRECTOR: Cheryl Coyle, cheryl.coyle@minotstateu.edu

   ND Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP)

This project assists ND seniors, including those in rural counties and with disabilities review their Medicare bills to assure that no errors, fraudulent charges or abuses have occurred by using local volunteers, regional volunteer coordinators, and disability adapted curricula to educate beneficiaries.

• PRIMARY CORE FUNCTION:   Community Service
• PRIMARY EMPHASIS AREA:    Quality Assurance
• PROJECT DIRECTOR: Linda Madsen, linda.madsen@minotstateu.edu

   Right Track

This project identifies infant and toddlers that may be at risk for DD, provides developmental screenings, refers to other services as appropriate and provides developmental information to families. Click here for more information.

• PRIMARY CORE FUNCTION:   Other Direct / Model Service
• PRIMARY EMPHASIS AREA:    Education /  Early Intervention
• PROJECT DIRECTOR: Rebeca Foster, rebecca.d.foster@minotstateu.edu

TRAUMA-iNFORMED cARE FOR aDULTS WITH dISABILITIES (triaD)

The TRIAD project works to provide person-centered trauma-informed (PCTI) care through curriculum development, support sessions, learning communities, workshops, and social events to adults aged 60 years and older with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who have a history of trauma, elderly parents or aging siblings who care for an older adult with IDD, and professionals who support them. The goal is to improve participants’ emotional well-being and involvement in developing future plans. Data from surveys, interviews, observations, and focus groups will be collected to determine project impact and to record promising practices. NDCPD will use a train-the-trainer model, evaluation, and dissemination of resources and lessons learned to help sustain the program.

• PRIMARY CORE FUNCTION:   TBD
• PRIMARY EMPHASIS AREA:    TBD
• PRINCIPLE INVESTIGATOR: Lori Garnes, lori.garnes@minotstateu.edu
• PROJECT DIRECTOR: JoLynn Webster, jolynn.webster@minotstateu.edu

URLend

Utah Regional Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (URLEND) is an interdisciplinary training program for professionals in a variety of disability-related disciplines. As a collaborative partnership between UCEDDs in Utah, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, URLEND trainees participate in three activities. These include didactic training sessions, research/leadership projects, and clinical observations.

• PRIMARY CORE FUNCTION:   Interdisciplinary Pre-Service
• PRIMARY EMPHASIS AREA:    Leadership
• PROJECT DIRECTOR: Hilory Liccini, hilory.liccini@minotstateu.edu