Increase DSP wages

The Pennsylvania House and Senate Appropriations Committees recently ruled that direct support professionals, caring for people with intellectual disabilities and autism, were not eligible for a wage increase. The rationale was that their pay already was near or slightly above Gov. Tom Wolf’s minimum-wage initiative.

While the governor’s emphasis on the minimum wage is laudable, it is just plain wrong to compare DSP positions with minimum-wage jobs. Direct support professionals are highly skilled, and they work around the clock supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They administer medication, detect and respond to emergency situations, and help people learn job and life skills, such as managing finances and tending to personal hygiene. They implement highly challenging behavioral and medical procedures, and they are required to be certified in first aid and CPR. They also must undergo a minimum of 80 training hours to ensure the highest standards of care. DSPs are lifelines to some of Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable citizens.

Sadly, however, the DSP workforce is in crisis. The commonwealth’s wage rates are near poverty level, so many DSPs struggle simply to make ends meet. Most now work two or three jobs, and many leave employment within one year, resulting in turnover rates exceeding 38%.

It is tragic that organizations like InVision Human Services now must compete for workers in other industries whose duties are considerably less demanding or require much less skill and training, but with equal pay.

Next year’s budget currently is in development. We urge the General Assembly to provide the financial support that is so desperately needed by increasing wage rates for DSPs.

RUTH SIEGFRIED

Sewickley

The writer is the founder, president and CEO of InVision Human Services based in Wexford and Reading, Pa. She has worked in the human services sector for 40 years.