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Findings show gaps at every tenure length, contributing to high turnover and workforce instability. Recommendations target Medicaid reimbursement rates, minimum-wage alignment, and regular COLA for HCBS.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/policy-research-brief-wage-compression-among-direct-support-professionals-research-issue/584751/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/policy-research-brief-wage-compression-among-direct-support-professionals-research-issue/584751.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Damian","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",5,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What problem does the brief focus on?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The brief focuses on low starting wages and wage compression between newer and more experienced direct support professionals, and how these issues drive a workforce crisis.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How does the study measure wage compression?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"It analyzes three survey waves from early in the COVID-19 pandemic and compares respondents’ wages by tenure against what would be expected if wages followed a typical 4% annual increase.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What policy actions does the brief recommend?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"It recommends adequate Medicaid rates, comprehensive Medicaid rate reform, ensuring minimum-wage increases are matched by pay adjustments, avoiding wage compression from sign-on bonuses alone, and implementing regular COLA increases for HCBS.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},584751,1792933003,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":55,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":26,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":55,"preview_page_count":4},137451208677,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Volume 28 Number 5  \nPOLICY RESEARCH BRIEF  \nWAGE COMPRESSION AMONG DIRECT SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS  \nResearch Issue  \nThe profession of direct support is one of the largest occupations in the United States. The demand for this essential workforce is growing, yet the supply of direct support professionals (DSPs) is nowhere near enough to match it. The workforce crisis among DSPs is well-documented and now approaching catastrophic proportions. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are not able to receive the services they are authorized, and some businesses are closing programs permanently or temporarily because of the workforce shortage.  \nLow starting wages is a major factor contributing to the workforce crisis, with an average starting hourly wage of $11.56 an hour in 2019. * Wage compression—where thereis little difference in pay between new and more experienced staff—is also a major problem in disability support services and results in high turnover among both direct support professionals (DSPs) and frontline supervisors (FLSs) . While the current average hourly raise per year among all hourly workers in the [U.S. is](U.S. is) between 3–5%, our data show that it is nowhere near that for the direct support workforce.  \nProviders of services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities are constrained by low, nonnegotiable reimbursement rates set by state Medicaid agencies. In many states, Medicaid rates have been stagnant or have decreased in the past decade. As a result, providers do not have enough funding to recruit new staff or raise wages to keep experienced staff. Both low starting wages and wage compression must be addressed for the DSP workforce crisis to be solved.  \n* [https://www.nationalcoreindicators.org/upload/core-indicato](https://www.nationalcoreindicators.org/upload/core-indicato)[rs/2019StaffStabilitySurveyReport_FINAL_1_6_21.pdf](rs/2019StaffStabilitySurveyReport_FINAL_1_6_21.pdf)  \nStudy Background  \nFor the vast majority of DSPs, staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic is not an option. The National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) and the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration (ICI) wanted to hear directly from DSPs about their experiences in supporting people with disabilities during this period. In response, ICI developed a series of online surveys and collaborated with NADSP to reach DSPs from across the country; the intent was to inform effective policy and practice decisions about what  \nis needed and to better prepare for potential future waves of this or other pandemics. The three surveys were fielded in April 2020, November 2020, and June–July 2021 and, in total, received responses from more than 18,000 unique participants. A full description of the study and findings can be found at [z. umn.edu/dsp-covid19](z. umn.edu/dsp-covid19) .  \nAll three surveys asked about respondents’ hourly wage atthe beginning of the pandemic (January 2020) and the third survey also asked about current wages. Respondents also provided information on the length of time they worked at their primary employer (tenure of fewer than 6 months, 6 months to 1 year, 1–2 years, 2–3 years, or 3+ years) .  \nThis Brief uses all three waves of data about wages and work tenure to examine wage compression. Average wages in each tenure category are shown, along with what would be expected if wages kept up with a 4% annual increase that is usual in other industries.  \nKey Findings  \nDSP Wages and Tenure  \nAt every length of tenure, there is a gap between what would be expected if DPSs sawa 4% annual increase in wages and what their wages actually are.  \n\n|  |\n| --- |\n|  |\n|  |\n|  |\n|  |\n|  |\n\n$12 .25  \n0–6 months  \n$12 .75  \n$13 .25  \n$14 .75  \n$14 .25  \n$13 .75  \n$15 .25  \n1–2 years  \n2–3 years  \nJan '20 wage  \n(0M)  \nJan '20 wage  \n(6M)  \nJan '20 wage  \n(12M)  \nCurrent wage  \n(12M)  \nFLS Wages and Tenure  \nAt every length of tenure, there is a gap between w","cbCaiqXot0NJK9Xy","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiqXot0NJK9Xy","pdf",142822,"English","# Research Issue\n## Study Background\n## Key Findings\n## Policy Recommendations\n## Publication Details","[{\"question\":\"What problem does the brief focus on?\",\"answer\":\"The brief focuses on low starting wages and wage compression between newer and more experienced direct support professionals, and how these issues drive a workforce crisis.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the study measure wage compression?\",\"answer\":\"It analyzes three survey waves from early in the COVID-19 pandemic and compares respondents’ wages by tenure against what would be expected if wages followed a typical 4% annual increase.\"},{\"question\":\"What policy actions does the brief recommend?\",\"answer\":\"It recommends adequate Medicaid rates, comprehensive Medicaid rate reform, ensuring minimum-wage increases are matched by pay adjustments, avoiding wage compression from sign-on bonuses alone, and implementing regular COLA increases for HCBS.\"}]","POLICY RESEARCH BRIEF - WAGE COMPRESSION AMONG DIRECT SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS - Research Issue | PDF",1792052218]