In the Spring of 2022, all agencies employing Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) paid for by a regional center will be invited to participate in an online survey to collect quantitative information about factors that impacted this workforce during the 2021 calendar year. For the purpose of this survey, DSPs are defined as paid staff whose primary job responsibility is to provide support and guidance, help with skills development, or provide personal assistance to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
The survey collects data pertaining to DSP tenure, turnover, vacancy rates, wages, benefits and other types of compensation, recruitment and retention, and front-line supervisor support. The survey also will include questions specifically tailored to California’s workforce and I/DD service system.
Why
The DSP workforce is low-wage and experiences high turnover, yet is a primary workforce delivering services to individuals with I/DD. Multiple stakeholders have expressed support for learning more about the employment of DSPs to inform policy changes, design recruitment and retention efforts, and examine the impact of rate increases over time.
The survey will establish baseline information from which DDS, agencies, and stakeholders may evaluate the impact of these initiatives. The comprehensiveness and quality of this baseline data is exponentially improved when more agencies participate. Each agency should complete only one survey.
When
Agencies employing DSPs will receive the emailed invitation from Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) in April or May 2022. The survey is completed through an online portal using a unique log-in link. Surveys must be completed by June 30, 2022. Once survey collection is complete, HSRI and DDS will analyze the survey data with the goal of publishing initial results in late 2022.
To learn more about the survey instrument, please visit the NCI Staff Stability Survey website.
View the letter from DDS here.