AbstractThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a comprehensive residential direct‐care staff training program on staff knowledge, record keeping, habilitation delivery, and turnover. A 40‐hour training course was presented to 18 direct‐care staff employed in three community residential facilities (CRF), while 18 staff in three other CRFs were placed on a waiting list. Sixteen of 18 trained staff (89%) increased use of habilitation activities, averaging 35.44% programming after training. Only six (33%) of the staff on the waiting list increased programming. The effectiveness of training was assessed against the gains of developmentally disabled (DD) consumers. In the training group, 31 of 36 (86.11%) residents increased on‐task behavior while only 7 of 22 (31.6%) of the waiting list residents increased on‐task behavior. Training also yielded improved client program records and a 50% decrease in staff turnover. Follow‐up over 12 months showed behavior maintenance. Results suggest that training based on clear learner objectives, presented using behavioral procedures, and taught to the entire staff including managers improves staff performance and cli