Direct Support Professionals are the Backbone of Care for People with Disabilities

Direct Support Professionals (DSP) are the daily heroes who work tirelessly to help those with disabilities achieve fulfilling lives. In fact, DSPs are as dedicated to those they serve as they would be a close family member. This sentiment is true of many in the healthcare industry, though DSPs stand apart given the daily, personalized care provided to our most vulnerable.

In the disability field, a DSP can have many titles; at Constructive Partnerships Unlimited they take on roles including Habilitation Coordinator, Community Skills Specialist, and others. A diverse group of women and men, they are at once an advocate, a friend, a teacher, and a voice. 

Their roles thread together with other committed caregivers to form a personalized array of services, appointments, therapies, and enriching activities. They seamlessly take on sometimes challenging tasks such as bathing, complex feedings, administering medication, and diapering, at all hours, with true devotion to those they support. 

In our organization specifically, they also number more than 1,100 of our 2,500-person strong workforce. Indeed, they are our backbone and frontline of intellectual and developmental disability (I/DD) care and support.

For this vital and compassionate work, they are annually compensated at a level at or below retail-wages. “Being a DSP is pretty much my life, this is what I am…but I cannot pay my rent with compliments,” said Yaritza Gonzalez, 62, who has worked with us since 2003 and spent her life in the disability field. “People cannot fathom what it takes; it can be very physical. This is not an easy job.”

Agencies like ours can lose money on the reimbursement rate from state agencies because it is part of an annual budget with many competing interests and activism, and work with the I/DD population is, unfortunately, not at the forefront of concerns in state and federal discussions. Despite investment this year that is higher than the previous several years, it doesn’t make up for a funding deficit that was many years in the making. This is why it’s important that everyone become an ally of persons with disabilities and lobby their elected officials to ensure DSPs are paid fairly in their state.

Nationally, we were encouraged that in March of last year the Senate unanimously passed legislation that qualifies Direct Support Professionals as its own Standard Occupational Classification (SOC), making this contingent unique amongst other healthcare workers. Now, it is up to the House to pass the parallel Direct Support Professionals Act (H.R. 2941). Doing so recognizes the essential role of DSPs and opens them up to focused support and considerations. That said, it does little to relieve any of our current concerns. 

Is it any wonder that the disability field is in the midst of a hiring crunch? According to a survey of New York State nonprofit disability providers conducted last August by New York Disability Advocates, the statewide staff vacancy rate sits at nearly 17 percent with a turnover rate of over 31 percent. 

We simply cannot fill the positions we have- and that is for where we are now. One in four of us will experience a disability as we age, and this portends a future where the current crunch becomes a full-on emergency. This is not a journey with a long horizon, especially if we continue devaluing the very people we need the most. 

“Being a DSP is my calling. I feel great when I see [the people I support] succeed. Every day, I am there for them. My job is to know what they need, to know their facial expressions and sign language,” explained CPU’s Sayma Delaila when asked what it means to her to be a Direct Support Professional. 

This is a field that is human to human. Technology can enhance our work—our organization proudly contributes to AI-driven projects focused on speech accessibility, for example—but while a lift can move a patient into a bathtub, a DSP must help them into the lift from the wheelchair. We use virtual learning platforms to offer a tapestry of classes but there needs to be a DSP to reinforce the lesson at home, at day-to-day care services, and other spaces. It is a high-touch position that demands only the highest level of obligation and kindness. 

All of us should champion the work of Direct Support Professionals and recognize the extraordinary among us who do the quiet magic. As Sayma explained about the people she supports: “They are my family! We do this from our heart.”