Provost, Mary C.

This preliminary investigation involved the development of a training program leading to graduated levels of certification and eventual licensure for direct service providers working in the State of Florida. Presently, certification and/or licensure are not offered to direct service providers by residential programs serving individuals with mental retardation in Florida. Current research in the field of mental retardation and developmental disabilities supports the development and implementation of standardized training as well as credentialing for direct service providers. The research described in this study compared two models of training for direct service providers, traditional-training and traditional-training paired with computer-assisted instruction. Twenty participants were recruited from two privately funded agencies providing residential services to individuals with mental retardation and developmental disabilities in South Florida. Incentives for participation were provided to participants by their sending agencies. The training content for both groups included characteristics of individuals with mental retardation; identification of antecedents, behaviors and consequences; identification of relevant and irrelevant information; and, identification of methods for obtaining more information for problem solving purposes. Participant knowledge of this content was measured through pre- and posttesting. The mean gain scores of the participants in the experimental and traditional training scores were compared using a t -test for change to determine statistical significance for each section of the measurement tool. The p values were .990, .941, and .558 for each respective section of the measurement tool, thereby supporting each null hypothesis tested. Finally, implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research were offered.