Raise wages for those who care for disabled, state House panel told

HARRISBURG — Nearly 20 years ago, Cheryl Dougan’s 14year-old son, Renzo, suffered a cardiac arrest and severe brain injury.

Since that time, he has needed care on a daily basis.

“My son’s life now depends on direct support professionals, DSPs, every hour of every day,” Ms. Dougan told a state House committee Wednesday.

The House Human Services Committee heard testimony about wages and workforce issues for direct support professionals — workers who care for people with disabilities.

These workers earn a median wage of $11.50 an hour, or about $24,000 per year, according to the authors of a study who testified before the committee. This leads to high turnover among staff, which can hurt the care people like Ms. Dougan’s son receive.

Such workers assist her son withmedical, dental and therapy appointments, monitor his health, tend to personal needs such as trimming his beard and fingernails, buy clothes for him, take him grocery shopping, and a host of other duties, said Ms. Dougan,who lives in Bethlehem.

“My son has had over 20 different people bathe him, care for him, the most intimate things imaginable,” said another parent, M.J. Bartelmay, of Mercer County, testifying to the importance of such workers to his son’s life.

Such low wages also mean direct support professionals, often referred to as DSPs, must frequently use public benefits like food stamps to support their own families, the study’s authors said.

“We either pay on the front end, or we pay on the back end,” said Nicholas Torres, CEO of Social Innovations Partners,

and one of the authors. The study was commissioned by The Alliance of Community Service Providers, Pennsylvania Advocacy and Resources for Autism and Intellectual Disability, and Rehabilitation and Community Providers Association.

Although the study cautions that they do not have exact benefits data, it estimates raising wages to $15 an hour would have an upfront cost but would ultimately result in taxpayer savings of $199 million because of reduced safety net costs and reduced overtime and turnover.

Samira Gray, a DSP who lives in Philadelphia, told committee members she loves her job, though she must use food stamps to make ends meet.

“I believe in this line of work,” she said. “It should not be so hard to stay in the job we love.”

Because workers are essentially paid using Medicaid funds, the joint federalstate health care program that covers people with disabilities, more state funds are needed to cover the cost of higher wages. Mr. Torres suggested the state could test paying higher wages to a handful of providers as a pilot program and see if it results in savings.

“Renzo lost several good DSPs this past year, due to crisis, burnout, or the need to make a living wage,” Ms. Dougan told state representatives.