Our Mission
OADSP educates, elevates, and empowers Direct Support Professionals, Frontline Supervisors, and other leaders through professional development opportunities, recognition, and advocacy.
Our Vision
OADSP fosters a vibrant learning community and actively elevates the value of frontline professionals within the intellectual and developmental disabilities field.
OADSP is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization committed to developing a stable and highly skilled direct support workforce, and to enhancing the career experiences of current and future Direct Support Professionals (DSPs). We believe that empowering I/DD professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary for actualizing their full potential leads to best-practice services and supports for individuals with disabilities – so they can actualize their full potential.
We value engagement, innovation, excellence, leadership, and professional growth, therefore our work:
- Advances the profession’s image and status,
- Promotes career pathways,
- Provides access to high-quality education and life-long learning opportunities,
- Delivers immersive professional experiences,
- Responds to the changing needs of the profession,
- Respects the professional workforce and those they support,
- Advocates with and for current/future frontline professionals, and
- Remains intentional with our partnerships and collaborations.
No one gets there alone, and OADSP is pleased and proud to maintain partnerships with various stakeholders in the I/DD industry – some of them dating back to our establishment – from state agencies to national organizations.