Hourly pay is increasing for direct support providers, but advocates say it isn’t enough to overcome the barriers that people with developmental disabilities face when seeking services.
Hourly salaries for direct support professionals across the country averaged $15.79 in 2022. This is the first time wages have surpassed $15 per hour. Sadly, salaries in some states, such as Louisiana and Alabama, remained below $11 per hour.
Despite the increase, the field’s turnover rate remained around 40%. Thus, making it difficult for many service providers to maintain enough staff to support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities living in their communities.
Unfortunately, average vacancy rates for full-time DSPs (direct support professionals) remained more than 15% in 2022.
According to the research, providers benefited from the 2021 American Rescue Plan, a pandemic rescue package that included $26.3 billion to increase direct care provider recruitment and retention. However, the money — which advocacy groups say is mostly responsible for the increase in DSP salaries — must be spent by March 31, 2025.
Meanwhile, more than half a million Americans were on state waiting lists for services last year. The average wait time was more than four years data shows.
In some states, the long wait has led to lawsuits. Five people filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana last week, saying that the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration essentially denied them admission to assisted living facilities by placing them on “long and indefinite” wait lists. The lawsuit seeks class action status on behalf of thousands of elderly and disabled Indiana residents.
In 2024, there were more people on interest lists (356,440) than waiting lists (354,299). The word “interest lists” has significant implications for a recently enacted Medicaid access rule. Although the final rule only requires states to disclose those who are on waiting lists, the preamble implies that CMS intends for states to report all sorts of lists.
The report also stresses that 17 states and the District of Columbia have shut down state-run institutions. Furthermore, it highlights 38 states’ participation in the federal Money Follows the Person program, as well as the approval of 18 demonstration waivers targeting social determinants of health across the country, with 17 more pending.
Home and community-based services allow disabled people to live at home or in the community instead of in an institutional setting. However, without adequate funding and staffing people’s lives could be at risk, which could result in tragic consequences.
Sources:
Block, Noah. “Ancor and UCP Release Case for Inclusion 2024: A Look at I/DD Services.” ANCOR, ANCOR/UCP, 12 Mar. 2024, http://www.ancor.org/capitol-correspondence/ancor-and-ucp-release-case-for-inclusion-2024-a-look-at-i-dd-services/.
Bonvissuto, Kimberly. “Residents Placed on Medicaid HCBS Waitlists Sue State Alleging Denial of Access to Assisted Living.” McKnight’s Senior Living, McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, 5 Nov. 2024, http://www.mcknightsseniorliving.com/news/residents-placed-on-medicaid-hcbs-waitlists-sue-state-alleging-denial-of-access-to-assisted-living/.
Diament, Michelle. “DSP Wages up, but Disability Providers Still Struggling to Maintain Services.” Disability Scoop, Disability Scoop, 4 Nov. 2024, http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2024/11/04/dsp-wages-up-but-disability-providers-still-struggling-to-maintain-services/31145/.
Orris , Allison. “New Federal Rules Will Improve Medicaid, Chip Access across the Country | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.” The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities , The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities , 23 Apr. 2024, http://www.cbpp.org/blog/new-federal-rules-will-improve-medicaid-chip-access-across-the-country.
Wolk , Abby, et al. “A Look at Waiting Lists for Medicaid Home- and Community-Based Services from 2016 to 2024.” KFF, KFF , 31 Oct. 2024, http://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/a-look-at-waiting-lists-for-medicaid-home-and-community-based-services-from-2016-to-2024/.