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Dear Editor
The week of September 10-16, 2023 has been declared Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) Week in an effort to recognize and appreciate the work of Pennsylvania's many DSPs who care for our friends, family, and neighbors with intellectual, development, physical, and other disabilities.
DSPs assist those they support with hands-on activities of daily living. Many individuals are able to live meaningful lives in their community because of this assistance. This workforce is responsible for the health, safety, and emotional well-being of individuals they support. They help them to live active lives in the community and maintain independence.
The need for the quality care provided by DSPs is constantly growing as the population of those living with disabilities increases. The number of people who chose this field as a profession; however, is not meeting this need. Low wages and benefits for state- and federally-funded services have resulted in high turnover rates among DSPs which contributes to a massive shortage in the workforce. During the COVID19 pandemic while many other essential healthcare workers were being featured in news stories on TV and social media, DSPs continued to provide critical, life-saving services with little fanfare or recognition.
When compared to other healthcare fields, service providers in the Intellectual Disabilities and Autism (ID/A) are woefully underfunded. This continues to become more evident as the pandemic emergency unwinds. Provider reimbursement rates are inadequate to attract qualified applicants. The simple fact that a person can earn a higher wage working in a fast food restaurant than they can providing critical supports to an individual with ID/A illustrates the inadequacy of the system.
During this DSP Week 2023, I urge everyone to recognize the tireless work of our DSP workforce and actively reach out to your elected officials to ask them to adequately fund the ID/A system so the most vulnerable in our communities are provided with the high quality supports they deserve.
Sincerely,
Tim Sohosky
COO, Raystown
Developmental Services