CLEVELAND – KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) EVP and Key Foundation Chair Margot J. Copeland today presented a $30,000 grant to Robert Shakno, president and CEO of Jewish Family Service Association of Cleveland to establish an in-service training program for JFSA’s staff of 200 Direct Service Professionals (DSPs) who care for clients with mental disabilities.
More than 8 million Americans have a mental or physical disability, such as autism, cerebral palsy or epilepsy. An estimated 500,000 of these individuals live independently in community settings, working or volunteering and leading productive lives. JFSA of Cleveland’s DSP staff dedicates 6,000 hours weekly to provide round-the-clock care for 400 adult clients with mental disabilities. Their in-service training will include general skills development, an opportunity to shadow experienced staff on site, and seminars with neuro-psychologists, among others.
Through the limited reimbursement Medicaid provides, DSPs average $6 to $7 per hour nationally, and they typically carry little to no experience in the mental retardation and developmental disability field. The value of in-service training in the development and sustaining of a highly capable, dedicated workforce is threefold, according to Shakno.
“Individuals with disabilities have an intense need and potential for independence and participation in all aspects of community life,” says Shakno. “Their societal integration depends on a fully trained DSP workforce mastering skills that, in turn, nurture greater job satisfaction among DSPs themselves and, thus, long-term employment in the profession, given greater pride in one’s ability to make a more profound difference in the lives of others. As well, family members extremely concerned over who is taking care of their relatives with disabilities find comfort through low turnover in DSPs who value their jobs.”
Structured in-service training has proved to reduce turnover in DSP workforces. High turnover rates are a nationwide problem that culminated with passing of the Direct Service Professional Recognition Resolution (H. Con. Res. 94) by Congress in Fall 2003. The resolution notes, “It is the sense of Congress that the Federal Government and States make it a priority to promote a stable, quality support workforce for individuals with mental retardation or other developmental disabilities that advances our Nation’s commitment to community integration for such individuals and to personal security for them and their families.”
Philanthropic investment in workforce development programs is a major strategic thrust in Key’s corporate-wide endeavors to help people and communities achieve economic self-sufficiency. Copeland, who also serves as director of corporate diversity at Key, sees far-reaching implications through this latest grant.
“The heart of our mutual endeavor is to inspire people to realize their full potential,” says Copeland of Key and JFSA. “Economic self-sufficiency gained through workforce development and sustained employment gives great meaning to our roles as contributing members of society. Direct Service Professionals play such an incredibly important role in bringing new levels of independence and meaning to very capable members of our society. Valuable skills development and lessons learned through JFSA’s new educational component will benefit DSPs throughout their careers and those whose lives they touch.”
Jewish Family Service Association of Cleveland
Founded in 1875, JFSA of Cleveland has a long history of addressing needs of the community’s most vulnerable populations. Today, JFSA is a contract agency of the Cuyahoga County Community Mental Health Board, Cuyahoga County Board of Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities, Cuyahoga County Department of Human Services, and the Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging. Its programs provide human services that touch the lives of almost 6,000 Jewish and non-Jewish individuals and families annually. Visit www.jfsa-cleveland.org or call 216.504.2600 for more information.
KeyCorp
Cleveland-based KeyCorp is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $88 billion. Key companies provide investment management, retail and commercial banking, consumer finance, and investment banking products and services to individuals and companies throughout the United States and, for certain businesses, internationally. Contact Key Foundation Senior Program Officer Quentin McCorvey at 216.689.5505, or [email protected], for more information about corporate grants.
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