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Pennsylvania House Designates Day for Direct Support Professionals

October 2, 2014

On September 23, Pennsylvania state representative Stephen Kinsey introduced H.R. 1042— legislation to designate September 30 as Direct Support Professionals and Support Coordinators Day — which the state House swiftly and unanimously passed the legislation on the same day.

In a floor speech on the legislation, Rep. Kinsey said:

Direct support professionals and support coordinators provide services around the clock and in a multitude of settings working to help improve the quality of life for individuals who may not have the abilities to do so themselves…They do this type of work because they are dedicated, committed, because they care about our fellow human beings.

Pennsylvania is home to nearly 195,000 direct support professionals — 74,000 nursing assistants, 56,000 home health aides, and 63,000 personal care aides.

For more information about Pennsylvania’s direct care workforce, visit the PHI State Data Center.

— by Stephen Campbell, PHI Policy Research Assistant

 

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