The economy is bad. Companies are closing. Bankruptcy filings are increasing. People are being laid off and losing jobs daily across the country. When will it begin to turn around? Or will it get worse before it gets better?
We are wondering what impact these difficult economic times are having on the Direct Support workforce around the country.
* Is turnover among Direct Support Professionals (DSP) increasing?
* Have the layoffs increased the number of available job candidates for DSP
positions, with those who have lost jobs now considering entering the DSP field?
* Has the bad economy had no impact at all?
* Are more and more DSPs having to look for second jobs?
The College of Direct Support would like to hear from you. Share your stories with us. You can use The CDS Blog as a venue for your stories and information...Just click comments to share your story.
Friday, February 6, 2009
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2 comments:
A DSP colleague and I were just discussing this subject Friday night(2-6-09).We basically agreed that support services would be safe even in bad economic times such as the present.However,we have very little real knowledge of the inner financial workings of our system.I believe this to be true for many DSP's.Maybe we don't ask the right people the right questions.Will social services cutbacks be the next big economic news?
I am a DSP. I've been happily employed as such for nearly one year. And I am good at my job because I love it. I am 52.
I was formally a Bank of America - Government Banking - Operations Team Manager with up to 60 staff employees under my supervision.
When the division went over-budget in 2007 several Managers at my level were provided severance packages. Although the Division was still highly profitable and the company as a whole was profiting billions of dollars annually there was an executive decision to reduce staff.
In my opinion, Bank of America's wages were too low in 2007 to meet living expenses because Real Estate rental costs, groceries, fuel, and other consumer goods prices were rising dramatically.
This was due to several factors, including the influx of home buyers in Upstate NY after 9-11,
Hurricane Katrina's effect on oil supplies and the grossly irresponsible and socially criminal practice of numerous banks providing loans to thousands of people that would have no chance of repaying their debts. This drove housing prices up to artificially ridiculous levels and gave cash poor, lower income, people a delusion of wealth in their new homes. The economic downturn is a result of numerous factors including the actions of foolish lenders. I consider the duped home buyers as victims of unregulated banking. Now the Government is bailing out the criminals AND HAS CUT funds to Human Services and Health Care in many states, including NY.
I earn much less as a DSP and the work is far more physically demanding. Yet compared to the soul-less, life draining career with Bank of America, being a DSP is delight. - Call me DSP John
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