For Pennsylvania DSP providers
Pennsylvania, meet the training pathway built around your DSP requirements
Pennsylvania's DSP requirements are set by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Developmental Programs (ODP). Some training is due before a new hire works alone, some renews every year or every few years, and some has to come from an outside certifying program. Keeping it straight for every staff member is a job in itself.
TES turns Pennsylvania's requirements into one checklist for each staff member. Mapped online courses are ready to assign, and outside certifications are tracked as evidence in the same record, so the file is ready when a reviewer asks.
Summarized from 55 Pa. Code § 6100.142; 55 Pa. Code § 6100.143; ODP Announcement 24-036. Last reviewed August 25, 2026.
- 400+ courses and programs
- 200,000+ professionals trained
What Pennsylvania requires
- Initial training deadline
- Orientation under § 6100.142 completed before working alone with individuals
- Ongoing training
- 24 hours annually for DSPs, direct supervisors, support coordinators, and life sharers; 12 hours for management and ancillary staff (55 Pa. Code § 6100.143)
- Background check
- Required — Pennsylvania criminal history checks and applicable clearances under Chapter 6100 provider qualification requirements
- 55 Pa. Code § 6100.142 — Orientation. Requires pre-service orientation covering person-centered practices, rights, abuse recognition and reporting under OAPSA/CPSL/APS, incident reporting, and job skills before staff work alone with individuals.
- 55 Pa. Code § 6100.143 — Annual training. Mandates 24 hours of annual training for DSPs, direct supervisors, support coordinators, and life sharers (12 for management and ancillary staff) across six topic areas.
- ODP Announcement 24-036 — Training documentation requirements. ODP guidance reinforcing that training records must identify the source of each training counted toward Chapter 6100 requirements.
What the Pennsylvania pathway tracks, and how
The Pennsylvania DSP pathway in the TES catalog has 11 requirements. Each one shows how often it renews and how TES handles it.
| Requirement | Renews | How TES handles it |
|---|---|---|
| Person-centered practices, community integration, choice, and relationships | One-time | Tracked in TES as external evidence |
| Preventing, detecting, and reporting abuse | One-time | Mapped course: Abuse, Neglect & Exploitation: Recognize and Report |
| Individual rights | One-time | Mapped course: Fundamental Rights for Direct Support Professionals |
| Recognizing and reporting incidents | One-time | Mapped course: Incident Management & Abuse Prevention for DSPs |
| Job-related knowledge and skills | One-time | Tracked in TES as external evidence |
| Annual training hours, including behavior supports and the individual plan | Every year | Tracked in TES as external evidence, with its renewal date |
| Fire safety, taught by a fire safety expert | Every year | Tracked in TES as external evidence, with its renewal date |
| First aid before working with individuals | One-time | Tracked in TES as external evidence |
| First aid, Heimlich, and CPR by a certified trainer | Every year | Tracked in TES as external evidence, with its renewal date |
| Department-approved medication administration | Every year | Tracked in TES as external evidence, with its renewal date |
| Insulin and epinephrine auto-injector training | One-time | Tracked in TES as external evidence |
Where TES courses fit in Pennsylvania
TES courses cover the topics your agency is allowed to deliver itself. Hands-on certifications such as CPR and First Aid, medication credentials and any state-delivered modules stay with their required sources, and TES tracks them as evidence next to your online courses.
The records are what get reviewed
When ODP or a licensing reviewer asks, you need more than certificates scattered across platforms. TES keeps each staff member's completions, certification cards and renewal dates in one checklist, so you can show who was trained on what, and when, in seconds.
Built for managers who are stretched thin
- One checklist per staff member. Every state requirement, its due date and its status in one record, so you can see who is on track and who is about to slip.
- Due dates and renewals tracked for you. Each requirement shows when it is first due and how often it renews, from "before first shift" to annual and multi-year cycles.
- Outside training lives in the same record. CPR/First Aid cards, medication-administration certifications and state-platform completions are tracked as external evidence next to your online courses, so one record shows what a reviewer asks for.
- Mapped online courses ready to assign. Self-paced courses from the TES catalog cover the topics your agency is allowed to deliver itself.
- NADSP Accredited Education provider. Completed TES hours can also count toward NADSP DSP-I and DSP-II accredited education through the NADSP E-Badge Certification Program.
Pricing
The Pennsylvania DSP pathway includes the requirement checklist, due-date and renewal tracking, and the trainings mapped to the pathway. See the Pennsylvania pathway in the TES catalog.
Buying for a team? Contact us or use "Request a team purchase" on the pathway page.
Frequently asked questions
What ongoing training do Pennsylvania DSPs need?
24 hours annually for DSPs, direct supervisors, support coordinators, and life sharers; 12 hours for management and ancillary staff (55 Pa. Code § 6100.143)
Does TES provide CPR, First Aid or medication certification?
No. Those come from their certifying programs. TES tracks each certificate and its renewal date in the same record as your online training.
What does the Pennsylvania pathway cost?
Pricing depends on your team size and states. Individual pathways are listed in the TES catalog; for an agency quote, contact our team.
Make Pennsylvania's requirements the easy part
See every staff member's Pennsylvania checklist on one screen, with renewals and outside certificates tracked. We'll walk you through the Pennsylvania pathway with your team in mind.
See the platform for my agency
Tell us about your agency and we'll walk through the Pennsylvania pathway in a demo environment.