2008 Direct Support Professionals Wage Study

The 2008 Direct Support Professionals Wage Study, which was conducted in partnership between ANCOR and the Mosaic Collaborative for Disabilities Public Policy and Practice, imparts a sobering view of a national healthcare workforce in crisis.

Direct Support Professionals (DSP) provide “hands on” daily supports, training and habilitative services to persons with developmental and physical disabilities. Analysis of survey results compared wages among DSPs employed by private providers with those who work for state-run programs.

The national average starting wage for private provider DSPs in community programs is $8.53 per hour, comparedto the average starting wage of $12.13 for state-employed DSPs – representing a 42 percent difference. Annualized, the average entry wage for a private provider DSP falls just short of the federal poverty level as the private DSP entry wage is $17,744 compared to the federal baseline (for a family of three) at $17,600.

“The wage disparity among private and public DSPs is startling,” said Renee Pietrangelo, CEO of ANCOR. “As demand for the supports provided by DSPs grows exponentially, low wages will prevent private providers from attracting and retaining a qualified workforce.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 49 percent increase in the number of direct care positions that will be needed between 2006 and 2016. This problem is compounded by the fact that the workforce is almost entirely funded by the Medicaid program.