Through this Web site, the State of Florida's Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) offers dynamic, interactive on-line courses for anyone who provides direct care services to persons with developmental disabilities, as well as other interested parties. Please note that by registering for an APD on-line course you are agreeing to the release of certain information to APD. This information is limited to your Blackboard ID, status (enrolled or completed), and final course grade ("S" = Satisfactory or "U" = Unsatisfactory).

TCC currently offers the two required direct care core competency training courses that meet the requirements of Section 2.1 (7) of the June 23, 2005, Developmental Disabilities Waiver Services Coverage and Limitation Handbook and administrative rules 59G-8.200, F.A.C. Individuals hired after June 30, 2006, need to complete the core competency training prior to providing unsupervised direct care.

The two direct care core competency courses are:

• Introduction to Developmental Disabilities
• Health and Safety

A third required course (Zero Tolerance) is offered to satisfy the new training requirements for all individuals providing services to APD clients under the Medicaid waiver program and to residents of APD-licensed residential facilities (as described in administrative rules 59G-8.200, F.A.C. and 65G-2, F.A.C.).

The purpose of Zero Tolerance is to teach direct care providers, support coordinators and any person providing care or support to an APD client on behalf of the Agency or its providers about abuse, neglect and exploitation of persons with developmental disabilities. The course provides information about how often these types of crimes happen and also describes how and why these crimes usually occur. This training will provide you with the tools to identify potentially dangerous situations and tell you how to report that information. Finally, this course will provide you with information about things you can do to help prevent abuse, neglect, and exploitation from happening in the first place.