For Tennessee DSP providers
Tennessee, meet the training pathway built around your DSP requirements
Tennessee's DSP requirements are set by the Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging (DDA, formerly DIDD). 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 Tennessee'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 DDA DSP and Caregiver Training Requirements (rev. Aug 2024); DDA Staff Development Plan / Training Resources Guide. Last reviewed August 25, 2026.
- 400+ courses and programs
- 200,000+ professionals trained
What Tennessee requires
- Initial training deadline
- First course block within 30 days of hire; second block within 60 days
- Ongoing training
- Annual refreshers required for Standard Precautions, HIPAA, Title VI, and Reportable Event training, delivered through the department-provisioned Relias LMS
- Background check
- Required — criminal background screening under Tennessee provider credentialing rules
- DDA DSP and Caregiver Training Requirements (rev. Aug 2024) — Training Requirements for Direct Support Professionals and Caregivers. The controlling DDA document listing the 30-day and 60-day required course blocks, annual refreshers, and the crosswalk from prior course versions.
- DDA Staff Development Plan / Training Resources Guide — Staff development planning guidance for DDA providers. Department guidance on structuring provider staff-development plans around the required Relias/TNDIDD course sequence.
What the Tennessee pathway tracks, and how
The Tennessee DSP pathway in the TES catalog has 12 requirements. Each one shows how often it renews and how TES handles it.
| Requirement | Renews | How TES handles it |
|---|---|---|
| Standard precautions | Every year | Tracked in TES as external evidence, with its renewal date |
| Essentials of HIPAA | Every year | Tracked in TES as external evidence, with its renewal date |
| Title VI | Every year | Tracked in TES as external evidence, with its renewal date |
| Reportable event training | One-time | Tracked in TES as external evidence |
| Emergencies and fire safety | One-time | Tracked in TES as external evidence |
| Risk management and community relationships | One-time | Tracked in TES as external evidence |
| Individual-specific training | One-time | Tracked in TES as external evidence |
| CPR with abdominal thrust, and first aid | One-time | Tracked in TES as external evidence |
| Choice, employment, disabilities, and HCBS settings | One-time | Tracked in TES as external evidence |
| Professionalism, person-centered thinking, and positive behavior support | One-time | Tracked in TES as external evidence |
| DDA medication administration record | One-time | Tracked in TES as external evidence |
| Medication administration classroom training | One-time | Tracked in TES as external evidence |
Where TES courses fit in Tennessee
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 a 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 Tennessee DSP pathway includes the requirement checklist, due-date and renewal tracking, and the trainings mapped to the pathway. See the Tennessee 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 Tennessee DSPs need?
Annual refreshers required for Standard Precautions, HIPAA, Title VI, and Reportable Event training, delivered through the department-provisioned Relias LMS
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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee's requirements the easy part
See every staff member's Tennessee checklist on one screen, with renewals and outside certificates tracked. We'll walk you through the Tennessee pathway with your team in mind.
See the platform for my agency
Tell us about your agency and we'll walk through the Tennessee pathway in a demo environment.
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