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Erik, a skill-training client with The Arc of Multnomah - Clackamas, chooses volunteerism as one of his skill training activities. Erik receives an important benefit from volunteering at a local animal shelter. Before he took on this responsibility, he had too much energy and time on his hands. Now he spends them on caring for the pets – “A great exchange”, says Dow Hokoana, field supervisor at the animal shelter, since the dogs “also have too much energy and time.” Read more about how the Arc enriches lives

The Arc's Recreation Respite Project has a regular schedule of in-house training for potential respite providers. To join The Arc's registry of respite providers, a person must pass a criminal history check and gain certification in Red Cross First Aid/CPR. In addition they must demonstrate a verifiable history (through paid work, volunteer work or life experience) of working with people who have disabilities -- OR they must complete additional Arc-sponsored training in disability awareness, inclusive child care, etc. (see In-House Training, below).

The Arc also offers respite providers access to a wide range of community-based training, as a part of the Region I DD Training Co-op. The Co-op's 33 member agencies offer a changing assortment of training opportunities for individuals who are caring or providing service for people with developmental disabilities. (See Community-Based Training, below).

In-House Training

Current in-house training opportunities for potential respite providers include:

Red Cross First Aid, and Adult, Infant and Child CPR (see class schedule below)

Kids in Community Settings (KICS), a program offering high quality, affordable, and easy-to-understand training to enable child care programs, family child care providers, and corporate child care centers to allow children with developmental disabilities to be included in community settings. Inclusion implies many things: attitudes of acceptance; appreciation of differences; planning with families, adaptation of environments, materials and activities; and preparation for transitions. Inclusion also recognizes childhood as a special time of life for all children. KICS strives to convey practical information and skills about these concepts through brief lectures, activities, videos and discussion.

The KICS program began in 1991 as Caring for Kids in the community in 1991. The program was updated in 1999, through funding from the Great Start program, as a joint project of The Arc of Multnomah - Clackamas and the Multnomah Education Service District, and was renamed Kids in Community Settings. KICS is a 10-hour curriculum, which is taught in three sessions through The Arc's respite project.

Note: Unless otherwise specified, all In-House Trainings will be offered at The United Way Bulding, 619 SW 11th, in downtown Portland. Please call Tammy Handrich at 503.223.7279, or click here to e-mail, to register for any of these sessions:

No trainings currently scheduled for the Respite Program.

Community-Based Training

Community members are welcomed to register for classes through the Co-op. Note that non-member fees apply if you are attending the class. For descriptions of the current training sessions offered through the Co-op, please click the link below:

http://www.sdri-pdx.org/training/co-op/Content_UpcomingClasses.html

The Arc will pay admission for one Co-op class per month for our Respite Providers. Contact Tammy before you take the class. Additional classes within that month are the responsibility of the provider.

To register for The Arc's respite provider training program, please call Tammy Handrich at 503.223.7279 or click here to e-mail.

619 S.W. 11th Avenue, Suite 106, Portland, OR 97205-2692 • 503-223-7279 • FAX 503-223-1488