Three years ago, the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (DDSN) recognized an immense need for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) in the state of South Carolina. We embarked on a journey to offer DSP training to high school students and successfully obtained approval from the Department of Education to offer this certification under the Health Science umbrella open to all CTE schools throughout South Carolina. For the past two years, this program has been successfully piloted in 2 high schools, and now we are ready to make it available to all schools across the state. Enroll in our session to learn about this valuable program and the steps to take in order to become a Training Site for the High School DSP Credential.

Pam Wilhelm, RNC, is a health science educator with Daniel Morgan Technology Center in Spartanburg. She was instrumental in helping to develop the SC-DSP High School Credential, and has been the teacher of record for the pilot program. Ms. Wilhelm recognizes the significance of this innovative certification for health science students. She looks forward to assisting other schools in their endeavor to partner with DDSN and local disability boards in offering this program in high schools across the state.