DSP training in Virginia is set jointly by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS), which licenses providers under 12VAC35-105, and the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS), whose DD waiver regulations at 12VAC30-122 define what DSPs must complete before delivering billable services. The requirements cover DSPs working under Virginia's three DD waivers (Building Independence, Family & Individual Supports, and Community Living) across residential, day, and in-home settings.

The waiver core is specific. Under 12VAC30-122-180, before providing billable services a DSP must pass the DMAS-approved standardized orientation test with a score of at least 80%, covering five knowledge domains. Within 180 days, a supervisor must complete observed competency checklists — the DSP and supervisor assurance forms (DMAS P241a, P242a, P245a) — documenting demonstrated skills, and those competencies are reviewed annually thereafter. DSPs supporting individuals with the most intensive needs (SIS Tier 4, levels 6-7) must additionally complete advanced training "developed or approved by a qualified professional" — which the regulation does not restrict to state-produced content.

DBHDS licensing rules add the employment-cycle requirements. Under 12VAC35-105-440, new staff complete orientation within 15 working days covering individual rights, confidentiality, abuse and neglect reporting, and emergency preparedness. Under 12VAC35-105-450, each provider must maintain a training policy that sets retraining frequencies for core operational topics — incident reporting, medication administration, behavior interventions, emergency preparedness, and infection control — which in practice defines each agency's annual in-service calendar.

Medication administration runs through Virginia's medication aide framework: unlicensed staff who administer medications in licensed settings complete the Board of Nursing-approved 32-hour medication aide curriculum under Va. Code § 54.1-3408. Third-party curricula can be approved by the Board, so this gate has an open pathway too.

The delivery model is a genuine hybrid, and worth stating precisely because it confuses providers: Virginia's orientation core is state-authored and free — the test and materials were developed through a DBHDS partnership (hosted via VCU's DSP orientation site and the Commonwealth of Virginia Learning Center) — but it is administered in-agency by the provider's own trainer, not on a state platform, and there is no statewide training vendor. Everything outside the core — the 12VAC35-105 licensing topics, annual retraining, Tier 4 advanced training, specialty content — is the provider's choice of source.

That split is exactly where Training and eTracking Solutions fits Virginia providers: TeTS hosts and tracks the state-authored side — orientation test results, the P241a/242a/245a competency checklists, and the annual review cycle, with automatic flags before a 180-day deadline or annual review lapses — and delivers the open side, with courses mapped to the 12VAC35-105-440/-450 topic areas and each agency's retraining frequencies. One system carries both halves, producing the documentation DBHDS licensing reviews and DMAS quality reviews actually ask for.