Clinical Applications and Consultations Across Environments: Schools and Organizations

Clinical Applications and Consultations Across Environments: Schools and Organizations

This assignment assesses the following Course Outcomes:

PS564-3: Integrate function-based strategies to improve personnel performance.

PS564-4: Develop a performance monitoring tool to inform feedback and reinforcement procedures that improve personnel performance.

PC-1.2: Contribute to team goals and objectives through active participation and collaboration.

Resources: PMP Overview Template

Unit 9 Tip Sheet

For this assignment, you will use your knowledge of organizational behavior management-based principles of performance management, supervision, teamwork, and communication to develop a comprehensive 12- to 16-page Performance Management Plan Portfolio to enhance staff/trainee improvement in a given environment. You are an ABA team of professionals working within a system that requires assessment and training to maximize the performance of the staff or stakeholders within that system. Your team has an opportunity to choose a case study to work from to complete this assignment:

Case Study 1: Home Program

Chloe is a 4-year-old little girl diagnosed with a developmental disability that impairs her socialization and communication skills. She has just received approvals for the implementation of a home program for 16 hours per week, which includes both discrete trial training and incidental teaching programs as well as parent training to support Chloe’s socialization and communication goals, which include functional communication training using a verbal behavior approach. As the BCBA that oversees the program, you are responsible for supervising two registered behavior technicians as well as supporting training for Chloe’s parents and her grandmother, who frequently babysits Chloe while her parents are at work.

Case Study 2: School Program (includes teacher, class aides, and one-on-one)

Edgardo is a fifth-grade student in an inclusion classroom with a regular education teacher, a special education teacher (who is only in the classroom for half of the day during math and language arts), and two paraprofessionals (a classroom aide and Edgardo’s one-on-one aide). Edgardo has a diagnosis of oppositional defiance disorder and exhibits frequent noncompliance and occasional physical disruption of the classroom (swipes materials from tables/desks, pushes furniture around, and dumps materials). As a result, Edgardo does not complete much of his schoolwork during the day because his behaviors impede his task completion, and the district is considering a more restrictive classroom environment if Edgardo’s behaviors are not improved. Edgardo’s special education teacher has some basic knowledge of applied behavior analysis; however, the general education teacher and paraprofessionals have never been trained in ABA.

Case Study 3: Organization

You have recently obtained a position as clinical supervisor in an agency that provides a variety of mental health and behavioral services for adults 21 and older. Services are provided both in-clinic and as part of home, residential, and community program settings, so clinicians and staff have a variety of responsibilities. The team of staff that you manage includes two case managers, BCaBAs, RBTs, and in-home speech and occupational therapists. The previous clinical supervisor was quite lenient and paid little attention to staff performance as long as time sheets were submitted on time. You have found some significant concerns regarding the functioning of staff in a variety of areas, including completion of documentation (program notes, data sheets, etc.), attendance at mandatory meetings, and required supervision activities. In addition, teams that work for a common client have little collaboration with one another on behalf of the client, resulting in inconsistent service provision. Your first priority in this position is to improve the service model and staff performance for the benefit of the clients served by the agency.

Case Study 4: Residential Setting

You have just gotten a new group home as part of your consultation and supervision responsibility. The home is the residence for six young adults ages 18–24 who require supports with behaviors and independent self-help skills. Each resident has their own behavior intervention plan that needs to be implemented with integrity within the home and to support community activities. In addition, staff are in charge of ensuring that medications are properly managed. You find that staff documentation within the residential setting is inconsistent and vague. Feedback regarding the prior functioning of this group home has noted an increase in behavioral incident reports, and some residents have not received medications according to the proper schedule. In addition, some residents appear to require improvements in hygiene. There are two shift supervisors (a.m. and p.m.) and 12 direct support professionals that work with the residents both in home and in the community, providing 24-hour support. The agency that runs the group home has asked you to demonstrate improvements within the functioning of this group home.

After reviewing the case study, your team should discuss and develop the following aspects for your Performance Management Plan Portfolio:

1. Assessment: Conduct a hypothetical diagnostic assessment of the system to determine the needs of the staff in terms of skills. Describe how the assessment analyzes the specific environment you are supporting. Then, hypothesize the assessment results that will be used to pinpoint behaviors for desired staff performance.
2. Pinpoint (and define) the desired performance outcomes and the target behaviors for staff. Discuss whether these are individual target behaviors or behaviors targeted for the group, and provide a rationale to explain why the targeted behaviors are necessary to meet the performance outcomes.
3. Training: Develop a set of training procedures for staff. Be sure to provide a discussion of why your outlined procedures were selected and how they will be implemented. This rationale should be grounded in evidence-based literature.
4. Performance Monitoring: Develop a tool for monitoring the performance of staff. Provide an explanation of your monitoring tool and how the monitoring process will contribute to effective management of staff performance.
5. Feedback and Reinforcement: Discuss your team’s strategies for providing feedback and reinforcement regarding staff performance. What are specific considerations regarding the feedback process? What specific plan for providing positive reinforcement will you implement?
6. Evaluating Outcomes: Design one or more evaluation tools that will effectively measure performance outcomes. Discuss the process that your team has established to evaluate performance outcomes and provide an explanation of how the selected measures provide reliable information to analyze whether performance outcomes have been met.
7. Barriers: Predict potential barriers that may arise during the assessment and training process and discuss strategies that may be used to problem solve and overcome (or prevent) such barriers.
8. Performance Management Overview: Use the template provided to insert all relevant information as a comprehensive overview of the Performance Management Plan.

Team Peer Evaluation Form

The team will receive one grade, and all members who contribute content to the assignment will earn this grade. Please use the Team Peer Evaluation Form to provide feedback on each team member’s participation and contribution to the team assignment (including your own). The professor will not share your feedback with others. However, you may ask teammates to share their perceptions with you if you think this would benefit your professional growth and development.

Please review and follow the assignment requirements in the next tab titled Assignment Details.

Your assignment should be a 12- to 16-page Performance Management Plan Portfolio, not including the title and reference pages, and should include the following elements:

• Title page: Provide your name, title of assignment, course and section number, and date.
• Body: Answer all the questions in complete sentences and paragraphs.
  • Your responses should reflect professional writing standards, using proper tone and language. The writing and writing style should be correct and accurate and reflect knowledge of skills and practice of the profession.
• Reference page: Sources listed in current APA format.
  • Include a minimum of three scholarly or academic sources to support your responses and conclusions.
• Use Arial or Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced and left aligned.
• Use standard 1" margins on all sides.
• Use current APA formatting and citation style.
  • If you need assistance with APA style, please visit Academic Writer.

Submitting your Assignment

Create your team assignment in a Word document. Save it in a location you will remember and with the following format: Lastname_FirstnameUnit9GroupAssignment. Choose one group member to submit to the Assignment Dropbox and be sure all members’ names are included.

Each student must complete the Team Peer Feedback Form. Save it in a location you will remember and with the following format: Lastname_FirstnameUnit9Feedback. Each student must submit their Team Peer Feedback Form to the Unit 9 Assignment Dropbox.