By Ted Bruce, DDA President of the Board
The Board of Directors of DDA receives regular reports that give us a picture of DDA staff. This includes staff surveys and more traditional metrics such as workplace health and safety. DDA is justifiably proud of its staff. They are well qualified and regularly improve with in-service training. Perhaps most importantly, they are caring individuals who are committed to inclusion.
Board members love to interact with staff to gain a better understanding of their work. Orientation visits to various DDA sites and activities are one way of doing this. Recently, I was invited to an in-service day for our early years program staff. The keynote speaker provided a powerful story about the challenges of building truly inclusive services and the supports and attitudes that are needed for inclusion to be a reality for all children.
I reflected on her message and was struck by the alignment with what is needed and the strengths and approaches of our staff. It’s in the “DNA” of DDA to look at an individual’s strengths and not deficits. Staff support our clients and residents to fulfill themselves and contribute to their community, however that is defined. Of course, this does not happen easily, and we can always improve. But our staff excel at this approach. The availability of high-quality staff education is one key to this. The excitement and engagement I saw at the recent staff in-service reinforced for me the special nature of all DDA staff.
