This online training program is designed to help Assisted Living direct care staff satisfy Minnesota dementia, mental health, and de-escalation training requirements for personnel providing care and services to residents. The course is built around Minnesota statutory requirements for dementia education, person-centered care delivery, mental illness awareness, de-escalation, and required competencies for staff providing hands-on care.
This training covers required education topics including:
• Understanding Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias
• Dementia progression, symptoms, and resident-centered approaches to care
• Assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) for individuals living with dementia
• Communication techniques and relationship-centered interactions
• Identifying, preventing, and responding to challenging behaviors
• Person-centered planning and service delivery
• Supporting resident dignity, independence, safety, and quality of life
• Recognizing symptoms of common mental illnesses
• De-escalation techniques and effective communication
• Crisis resolution and suicide prevention
• Applying dementia-informed and person-centered practices in daily resident interactions
Effective July 1, 2025, Minnesota expanded Assisted Living training requirements to include mental illness and de-escalation education. Under Minnesota Statutes §§144G.63 and 144G.64, required training includes recognizing common mental illnesses, de-escalation and effective communication techniques, crisis resolution, suicide prevention, and procedures for accessing county crisis response services and the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
This course is intended for caregivers and staff who provide hands-on resident care within Minnesota Assisted Living settings, including staff assigned to support residents living with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. Minnesota requires direct care personnel to complete initial training and ongoing annual education. Specific training requirements vary depending on role and care setting.
Care Providers of Minnesota has collaborated with Pathway Health, a national consulting and education organization, to develop this on-demand training, with modules for direct care and non-direct care staff. Modules are applicable to staff at assisted living/housing with services/home care and skilled nursing centers. Each training module is 30 minutes and features an expert instructor and straightforward materials on an easy-to-use platform. Users need only a computer with speakers and internet access.
Minnesota Requirement References: Minn. Stat. §§144G.63, 144G.64, and 144G.83.
