Rights advocates are hoping that a new classification for disability service providers will end the decades-long workforce crisis they’ve been facing.
Sometimes, states will blend parts of different codes to create a DSP wage that’s less than accurate and not enough, with record numbers leaving for other entry-level jobs.
How direct support professionals are paid is determined by Standard Occupational Codes, which the federal government uses to identify different occupations and things like wage trends.
DSPs don’t have their own code and instead often rely on states to borrow and blend parts of other occupations’ codes to set their wages.
Revisions only happen every 10 years, and the federal government is now considering changes for the new 2028 manual.
