To protect those in care, you require the right tools, the latest guidance, and a community that supports you.
As we look back on 2025, we’re revisiting the posts and themes that resonated most with you this year. Whether you’re looking to sharpen your skills or catch up on resources you missed, here is a curated list of the insights that helped shape our year.
Peer Support: Best Practices for Maintaining Professional Boundaries
Peer support workers use their lived experience to make a difference in the lives of those who may face similar challenges, be familiar with the same treatment services, or have experience with the same supports. Their role is powerful and can also create confusion about healthy boundaries. This year, the blog helped shed light on the role of peer support workers and the best practices for maintaining professional boundaries with people receiving services.
It also debuted a new Spotlight on Prevention, offering expanded guidance on establishing professional boundaries between peer support workers and individuals receiving services.
[The Justice Center’s Professional Boundaries training course was also incredibly popular this year!]
Read Now
Streamlining CAP Audits: New OPWDD & Justice Center Guidance
Earlier this year, the Justice Center and OPWDD released a guidance document to clarify our unique oversight and monitoring responsibilities in response to provider feedback. The joint document helps providers understand each entity’s oversight and monitoring responsibilities and provides helpful reminders regarding documentation to help reduce duplicative requests and ease the burden on providers.
If you haven’t seen it or would benefit from a refresher, we are sharing it below.
Read Now
Creating An Effective Supervision Policy
Lapses of supervision are one of the most common factors in abuse and neglect cases substantiated by the Justice Center. While some lapses in supervision arise from staff behavior, establishing a solid, comprehensive policy is the foundation of proper supervision.
Your supervision policy should define what supervision means to the agency, identify staff responsibilities, establish procedures, outline expectations, and more. Our blog post identifies nine steps to craft an effective supervision policy.
Read Now
Introducing the “Could This Happen In Your Program” podcast
In June, the Justice Center introduced the “Could This Happen in Your Program?” podcast, which connects you with providers and subject-matter experts and shares insights and best practices in a new format.
Our blog post from earlier this summer announced the podcast. The podcast published eight episodes in 2025. Topics range from creating a culture of safety, using data to prevent harm, assistive technology, and others. We also featured a conversation with the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals’ Joe Macbeth during DPS Week. Check it out.
Podcast Episodes
How else can you receive best practices from the Justice Center?
The Prevention blog isn’t the only way the Justice Center connects you with proven abuse-prevention techniques. If you haven't already, we also encourage you to sign up for our email list, subscribe to the Justice Center podcast, and follow us on LinkedIn!
We appreciate your support this year in protecting people receiving services across New York State and look forward to future collaboration in 2026.
