Developing Staff Competencies for Supporting People with Developmental Disabilities: An Orientation Handbook

Formerly titled Staff Development in Mental Retardation Services: A Practical Handbook, this second edition, in an easier-to-use format, gives service providers helpful strategies for increasing effectiveness and maintaining well-being while working in the rewarding yet challenging field of human services. Filled with answers to pertinent questions about service development, delivery, and assessment, this intuitive guide also offers guidelines for working with families, coping with stress and burnout, and enhancing service management and quality.

From 1977 to 1986, Dr. Gardner served as Director of Community Programs and then as Vice President for Community Program Development at The Kennedy Institute at The Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Gardner received his doctoral degree in a dual program of American Studies and American Social History from Indiana University. He was awarded a Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Post-doctoral Fellowship in Medical Ethics at the Harvard Medical School. Dr. Gardner later completed the Masters in Administrative Sciences program at The Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Gardner holds faculty appointments at The Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland. He has written and edited numerous publications in the field of human services. Dr. Gardner is a nationally recognized leader in the application of quality improvement methods to the field of human services. Through presentations at national conferences, in his teaching and writing, and during organizational consultations, Dr. Gardner argues that the measurement of quality must move from compliance with organizational processes to facilitating person-centered outcomes for people.

Michael S. Chapman, M.Ed., is Assistant Vice President of Kennedy Krieger Community Resources at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.