Risk Management for Direct Support Professionals

Course Code: REL-IDD-0-RMDSP

Hours: 1

Type: Online Course

Content Expiration Date: 3/31/2026

Learning Objectives:
Describe risk and the importance of risk in IDD services.
Explain the risk management process.
Identify strategies to manage risk in IDD services.

Outline:
Section 1: Introduction

About This Course

Learning Objectives

Section 2: What is Risk Management?

Emily Has a Headache

What is Risk?

What are Risk Factors?

What Kinds of Risks do DSPs Face?

Why Manage Risk?

What is Risk Management?

What Would You Do?

Is Risk Always Bad?

Whose Risk is It?

Laws and Regulations

Making Choices

Teaching Skills

Review

Summary

Section 3: Planning for Risks

Lisa Gets Lost

Risk Management Plans

A DSP’s Role

Five Steps of Risk Management

Step 1: Identify

Tools to Identify Risks

Lisa’s Concert: Identify

Step 2: Assess

Lisa’s Concert: Assess

Step 3: Plan

What’s in a Plan

Lisa’s Concert: Plan

Step 4: Act

Lisa’s Concert: Act

Step 5: Monitor

Lisa’s Concert: Monitor

Routine Risk Management

Review

Summary

Section 4: Conclusion

Summary

Course Contributor

References

Congratulations!

Instructor: Katy Kunst, MBA, QIDP

Katy Kunst received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her Master of Business Administration from Elon University. She has 15 years of experience serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their supporters, including roles as direct support professional, program director, and training facilitator. She has created and facilitated training on topics including non-violent crisis interventions, person-centered planning, cultural competence, quality service delivery, regulatory compliance, and a variety of topics related to IDD services.

Target Audience:
The target audience for this course is: Direct Support Professionals (DSP); in the following settings: Intellectual Developmental Disabilities: Agency.

Relias Learning will be transparent in disclosing if any commercial support, sponsorship or co-providership is present prior to the learner completing the course.

Relias Learning has a grievance policy in place to facilitate reports of dissatisfaction. Relias Learning will make every effort to resolve each grievance in a mutually satisfactory manner. In order to report a complaint or grievance please contact Relias Learning at support@reliaslearning.com.

Course Delivery Method and Format
Asynchronous Distance Learning with interactivity which includes quizzes with questions/answers, and posttests.