Message Sent: DSPs Count

Direct Support Workforce Solutions, ICI’s national consulting group, submitted a public comment letter in early August urging federal officials to create a Standard Occupational Classification code for direct support professionals, who support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The letter, signed by ICI Director Amy Hewitt and Kris Foss, Director of Direct Support Workforce Solutions, cites the code’s importance in creating long-overdue access to community living envisioned when the United States began moving from large, state-run institutions to individualized settings.

“Supporting this movement, a foundational aim of the Institute for nearly 40 years, requires the establishment of a competent, professional workforce that can not only care for the immediate health and safety needs of people with IDD but also support their contributions to the workplace, to their partners and families, and all aspects of community life,” Hewitt and Foss wrote. “DSPs can make the difference between someone with IDD simply living and someone with IDD who is engaged in a meaningful, productive life.”

A distinct classification identifying DSPs’ work will give service providers much-needed data to understand the size of the workforce and to better plan for, train, and employ direct support professionals. It will also help make the case for wages that reflect their multiple roles.

Hewitt filed an additional letter that explains in greater detail the types of work DSPs perform, including advocacy, behavioral support, household management, education, and much more.

“The complexity of the DSP role stems from its interdisciplinary nature, the diversity of the individuals served, the life-course nature of the work, the percentage of time that DSPs are in the community with the people they support and not in their homes, and the critical emphasis on individualized, person-centered support that empowers individuals to lead meaningful lives as participating and valued members of their communities,” Hewitt wrote.

Foss said the consulting group will continue to follow developments along the path toward revising the SOC code in 2028, as well as legislative and other policy proposals related to the direct care workforce. In addition to the public filing, ICI used social media and other channels to urge colleagues and families across the disability community to submit their own public comment letters.

“The Send a Message: DSPs Do More campaign resonated with a lot of people in the field, but it’s also important to keep in mind that a lot of people still aren’t familiar with the terminology used in our field,” Foss said. “As we work with providers to attract people to this field, using familiar terms in recruiting messages, increasing overall awareness of the occupational demand, growing career opportunities, and the critical role of the DSP are important, and establishing an occupational code will help.”

The team is also closely monitoring other regulations and legislation that affect the support workforce, including the Long-Term Care Workforce Support Act , which would improve pay for direct care workers and create career pathways to attract people with disabilities to the field.

The group is also analyzing how service providers will handle new Labor Department rules on overtime pay, which could boost wages for frontline supervisors, those who directly supervise the work of direct support professionals, but also threaten the viability of the providers.

“This would be a positive development if organizations were given the funding to pay higher salaries, but it’s a real concern if, without it, some providers have to cut services and the already large waiting lists grow even longer,” Foss said.

The Institute has made a long-term commitment to understanding the support workforce and developing strategies that help states and disability service providers attract, hire, train, and retain DSPs. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, ICI collaborated with the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals to capture critical survey data about the experiences of the direct support workforce. Even before the pandemic, this workforce was in sustained crisis as the number of people needing Medicaid Home and Community Based Services in order to live more independent lives overwhelmed the supply of trained workers.

Creating a SOC will vastly improve the disability field’s knowledge about this workforce, beginning with revealing basic data about the number of professionals working in the field today. Sharing this and other data will greatly help federal and state agencies, other organizations, and businesses serving people with disabilities to set appropriate wages based on a more common data set. Foss said it will also be a critical recognition of the distinct, important role DSPs play.

“People often think recognition is about saying thank you and recognizing individuals’ work internally, but there is also a need for recognition within the larger community,” she said. “We are focused on helping employers engage, train, and retain these critical workers and showing them real career paths. Greater recognition of the role of the direct support professional as an in-demand occupation, and as a career that has a positive impact, is another part of the equation to having a workforce ready to meet that growing demand.”