About us

“An Institution is not a place, it is a state of mind.” – Tom Pomeranz, Ed.D.

Practical Training Solutions (PTS) was founded in 2005 as Arizona’s first independent training agency dedicated to supporting Provider Agencies contracted under the Arizona Long Term Care (ALTCS) program. PTS quickly gained momentum by assisting small to medium sized agencies with their training and compliance needs.

Ownership and Management changed in 2014 with now current President/CEO Tyler Burke. Tyler brings a great deal of industry experience having provided both direct support as well as executive experience in operating an Arizona based Provider Agency contracted with DDD. Having experienced first hand the initial rate reductions of 2008 and the challenges that came along with that, PTS is now uniquely positioned to offer Providers a superior training experience simultaneous to cost savings of in-house training.

PTS currently trains 8000+ Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) in live instructor led classes each year.

With new agencies coming to our program each and every week, we are thriving like never before. PTS employs two DDD lead Article 9 and Prevention and Support instructors. We attribute our success to the simple commitment that training is not purely about compliance, but rather the opportunity to participate in this great civil rights movement.

 

Practical Training Solutions Staff:


Tyler Burke, President/CEO – Tempe, Arizona

Serial Entrepreneur (ProviderSearch,LLC., TrainingVenue LLC.)

Direct Care Workforce Alliance, Chair

 


Bill Tapp, Vice President – Knoxville Tennessee

Founder – College of Direct Support/ Direct Course

Networking Guru

 


Chris Garcia, Director of Training – Chandler, Arizona

DDD Lead Instructor – Article 9 & Prevention and Support

*Article 9, Prevention and Support, CPR, First Aid, Skill Building and the ISP Process, DCW 1 & 2,  Principles and Practices of Direct Support, Medication Basics, Introduction to Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities, Positive Behavior Support, Incident Reporting.


Estela Hunt, Instructor – Phoenix, Arizona

DDD Lead Instructor – Article 9 & Prevention and Support

*Article 9, Prevention and Support, CPR, First Aid, DCW 1 & 2


Heidi Lewis, Instructor – Phoenix, Arizona 

*Article 9, Prevention and Support, CPR, First Aid, DCW 1 & 2

 


Course Consultants, Contributors and Authors:

*Indicates the course title of participation


Tom Pomeranz, Ed.D Creator of Universal Enhancement – Indianapolis, Indiana

Instructor, Consultant, Speaker

*Principles and Practices of Direct Support


Professor James Adams Ph.D – Phoenix, Arizona

President of:  Autism Society of Greater PHX, Autism Nutrition Research Center

*Principle and Practices of Direct Support (Introduction to Autism)


Dan Davidson, Ph.D, BCBA-D – Flagstaff, Arizona

Consultant, Speaker

*Principles and Practices of Direct Support


David Harvey, Ph.D, L.P.C. – Tucson, Arizona

Consultant

*Live Workshops


Ken Whelan – Flagstaff Arizona

Consultant

*Live Workshops


John Dacey, Esq., Attorney – Phoenix, Arizona

Law Firm of Gammage and Burnham

*Incident Reporting, Investigations,  Live Workshops


Rick Mahrle, Esq., Attorney – Phoenix, Arizona

Law Firm of Gammage and Burnham

*Prevention of Sexual Harassment


Heather Boysel, Esq., Attorney – Phoenix, Arizona

Law Firm of Gammage and Burnham

*HIPAA


Timothy Forsman, Esq., Attorney – Phoenix, Arizona

Law Firm of Gammage and Burnham

*HIPAA Hi-Tech


Dr. Kellie Band, DBH, BCBA, LBA – Scottsdale, Arizona

Consultant

*Applied Behavior Analysis


 

“The worst thing we can do for the people we support, is to do for the people we support.” – Steve Miller