Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise today to mark the week beginning on September 11, 2022, as National Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week. Direct support professionals assist millions of individuals living with disabilities to perform a wide range of essential daily tasks such as meal preparation, transportation, and medication management. Direct support professionals provide critical home- and community-based services--HCBS--that allow individuals to stay connected with their communities. As direct support professionals stepped up during the pandemic and provided care while facing increased personal risks as frontline workers, many faced long-standing difficulties such as inadequate wages and benefits. These challenges disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities, who comprise 62 percent of the home care workforce, which includes direct support professionals. These issues have led to high turnover and vacancy rates, contributing to a growing shortage of direct support professionals. Even as this shortage persists and millions of jobs in the field remain open, demand for direct support professionals is expected to increase by at least 1.4 million new direct care jobs by 2026, according to PHI. An insufficient number of direct support professionals will likely mean longer wait lists for individuals seeking assistance, force providers to turn away new referrals, or discontinue programs and services.…”