Direct Support Professional Credential
Direct Support Professionals work with individuals with physical and/or intellectual challenges to become more integrated into their environments and communities.
The Direct Support Credential at Tompkins Cortland requires completion of four courses.
Printable version of credential checklist
ENGL 100 Academic Writing I
3 credits
HUMS 105 Introduction to Human Services
3 credits
HUMS 107 Introduction to Disability Studies
3 credits
HUMS 128 The Family: Strength-Based Intervention
3 credits
Academic Writing I
This is the first of a two-course sequence of academic writing. Students learn how to write a variety of essays, usually in response to readings. They review grammar and basic writing skills, learn an effective writing process, begin to engage and respond to academic texts, and are introduced to research and documentation of sources appropriate for introductory-level college essays. Special sections may center on a theme.
Introduction to Human Services
The purpose of this course is to identify agencies in the community that provide human services. Emphasis is placed on examination of the particular mission, objectives, organization, staffing patterns, and funding of such agencies. The interaction of various roles of the human service network is also examined. The course is intended for human service students, as well as for interested community members. The instructional modes include lecture, seminar, agency visits and presentations.
Introduction to Disabilities Studies
This course will introduce students to the emerging field of disability studies. Students will explore cultural, historical, political, and social antecedents that have influenced contemporary conceptualizations of disability. Students will examine how the social inequities of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation have impacted disabled individuals, and how disability status has contributed to exclusion and oppressive practices.
The Family: A Strength-Based Intervention
A systems model is used to assess families' strengths and weaknesses in reference to meeting basic human needs of each member. Understanding the family in the social environment, emphasizing the strengths, resources, and unused opportunities of each family member, and identifying interventions available to the human services worker are studied. Priority is given to the study of the challenges most frequently encountered by families. Prerequisites: Prior completion or concurrent enrollment in ENGL 100 and RDNG 116 if required by placement testing. 3 Cr. (3 Lec.)