| Self directed support options for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), such as the Consumer Directed Community Supports (CDCS) Program in Minnesota, have become increasingly viable and common in recent years. Despite the fact that such programs continue to grow, systematic, independent study of their uses and effectiveness has remained sparse.;Using an extant data set that includes data from a survey of 112 randomly selected CDCS users from across the state and 29 county developmental disabilities services administrators, this dissertation offers a comprehensive study of Minnesota's self directed supports program for people with IDD. Specifically, this study looks at CDCS usage patterns, including the testing of a model that aims to explain why some individuals remain on the self directed program, while others depart, presumably in favor of traditional service models. In addition, this study examines the characteristics of the direct support workforce that supports persons with IDD in self directed supports.;Two main hypotheses were tested in this research, both using binary logistic regression, with additional descriptive analysis coming from chi-squared analyses and descriptive statistics. Binary logistic regression analysis suggests that CDCS users are more likely to be current users when they are under the age of 22, living in the metropolitan area of the state, and have higher than average individualized budgets. This is an important finding since it supports findings from the initial study using this data set, which descriptively found discrepancies in CDCS usership that may be linked to paternalistic attitudes among county administrators in non-metropolitan areas of the state. The second hypothesis, which tested the predictive utility of wage rates, fringe benefit provision, training opportunities, and worker relationship to the CDCS user on the length of worker tenure, did not yield statistically significant results, leaving questions about the character of the direct support workforce in CDCS.;These findings, as well as others from this study, suggest implications for policy development, future research, and social work practice, which are discussed at some length, as are the limitations of this research. |
