Creating a Strong Direct Support Workforce: Policy Barriers and Opportunities

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).