Statutory Definition of Direct Support Professionals (DSP). Accurate and comprehensive data on Direct Support Professionals (DSP) is crucial to understand the workforce and to develop effective solutions to address recruitment and other shortages. DSPs deliver habilitation services and other supports to enable people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) to live full and independent lives. From employment coaching and career development, to assistance with relationship building and decision‐making, studies estimate that DSPs provide services to more than 1.4 million individuals with I/DD in the United States.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is in the process of revising their 2018 SOC Manual to include a distinct “Direct Support Professional” code. A major category in the 2018 SOC Manual is Healthcare Support Occupations (31‐0000) which includes the occupational code Home Health and Personal Care Aides (31‐1120). The required duties, function, training, and scope of activities performed by DSPs do not fit this occupation code. As the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently acknowledged in a joint report on the workforce that delivers home and community‐based services, the role of a DSP is distinct from a home health aide or personal care aide.
Designating DSPs into a distinct occupational code will provide the necessary granularity to capture their unique contributions, challenges, and workforce trends. Without this data, the totality of the workforce crisis cannot be accurately assessed. A unique DSP occupational code will ensure The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) can accurately capture employment and wage data specific to the occupation, which will in turn assist federal and state policymakers when making policy decisions. To see a more detailed discussion of this issue click here
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