Alaska Alliance for Direct Service Careers wins national award

The Moving Mountains Award is presented to organizations that promote the development of human service workforces that support individuals in achieving their goals. The UAA Center for Human Development and the Governor Council on Disabilities and Special Education, partners in the creation of the Alaska Alliance for Direct Service Careers, received the 2007 Moving Mountains Awards.

The Alliance provides services supporting workforce development of direct support staff throughout Alaska. It is a statewide initiative directed toward recruitment, retention and training of direct support personnel working in all community settings serving individuals with developmental disabilities, Alzheimer's disease and related disorders, mental illness, and chronic alcoholism throughout Alaska from urban hubs to remote villages. The Alliance serves approximately 100 organizations statewide that employ direct support staff to provide care for more than 10,000 vulnerable Alaskans.

The award was presented by the Research and Training Center on Community Living at the University of Minnesota in partnership with the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals at a ceremony during a national conference in April.