Around the country, roughly 1.3 million direct support professionals support people with physical, intellectual, and developmental disabilities to lead self-directed social and community lives. As with the broader direct care workforce, these workers struggle with low compensation, minimal training, and a host of barriers that threaten the livelihood of workers and the people they support. This presentation was part of a lecture delivered this fall for The Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. To learn more about direct support professionals, please visit the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP).
Key Takeaways
Direct support professionals support people with physical, intellectual, and developmental disabilities to lead self-directed social and community lives.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics should recognize “Direct Support Professional” as a distinct occupation title and provide regular data and analysis on this workforce.
Proper training would ensure that direct support professionals possess skills and knowledge in core competency areas.
Robert Espinoza oversees PHI's national advocacy and public education division on the direct care workforce, and contributes vision and leadership to the organization's strategies.
