Easton Resident Receives Caregiver Certification

Five years ago, the New Jersey Direct Support Professional Workforce Development Coalition (NJDSPWDC) was awarded a grant through the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities (NJCDD) to develop a project designed to reduce the turnover of direct support professionals caring for people with disabilities.

The pilot project involved staff members from nine agencies of various sizes in all four regions of the state.  The Matheny Medical and Educational Center (www.matheny.org) in Peapack, NJ, was one of those agencies, and Brenda Hoagland, a resident of Easton, PA, and a veteran direct support trainer agreed to be Matheny's coordinator for this program.  Through her leadership, Matheny has had more participants than any other agency in New Jersey, and Hoagland has now become the first person in New Jersey to receive national certification as a direct support professional. She is one of 20 such professionals in the entire country.

Matheny is a special hospital and educational facility for children and adults with medically complex developmental disabilities.