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Tags Posts tagged with "Direct Support Professionals"

Direct Support Professionals

Lawmakers return to Harrisburg to begin the monthlong process of crafting and passing a final state spending plan for the 2022/23 fiscal year. The next few weeks are crucial.

Lawmakers need to hear from you right now! Contact your state senator and representative and tell them to increase funding to support human services professionals, so individuals and families in need get the assistance and care they deserve.

Pennsylvania has billions of state dollars in surplus, plus additional federal money, but it remains unspent as the needs of our most vulnerable residents go unmet.

Over the past few months, our coalition has sent more than 6,000 messages to the General Assembly and administration. We aired TV commercials and shared our message on social media. We rallied at the Capitol Building in Harrisburg. We have been seen and heard.

But all that matters now is what happens during these next few weeks as the budget is finalized. There is no slowing down now. Use this link to learn how you can help and urge your networks to do the same. Most importantly, if you haven’t already, take action today.

This workforce crisis is affecting our most vulnerable individuals and families, as well as the providers and professionals who serve them. Lawmakers have a big role to play in solving this problem. But they need to hear from you. Thank you for your continued support; now, let’s finish strong!

Upcoming NADSP Webinar

Direct support professionals have been on the front lines supporting people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 vaccines are now here and becoming widely available. While this is good news, we also know that there is some confusion and worry about the efficacy and safety of the vaccine. In this webinar, the National Alliance of Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) in partnership with the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (AADMD) will address vaccine concerns. Please join Rick Rader, MD as he shares up-to-date and research-based information on the COVID-19 vaccines.

This webinar is now available on the NADSP website and can be viewed here.

Providing Support During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Direct Support Professionals Survey

The National Alliance of Direct Support Professionals (NADSP), in partnership with the Institute on Community Integration (ICI) at the University of Minnesota, is conducting a survey on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on direct support professionals (DSPs). Your responses will help us identify the most effective ways to protect DSPs and the people you support.

If you provide direct support to people with disabilities, please take the survey. Your answers will be anonymous. National and state-specific results from the survey will be shared widely in March 2021.

A similar survey was conducted by ICI and NADSP in the spring of 2020; it was completed by more than 9,000 DSPs. Those results are available here. The new survey is for both DSPs who completed the earlier survey and those who did not.

The National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals is a national non-profit whose mission is to elevate the status of direct support professionals by improving practice standards; promoting system reform; and advancing their knowledge, skills, and values. Our vision is a world with a highly qualified and professional direct support workforce that partners with, supports, and empowers people with disabilities to lead a life of their choosing.

The Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota is a designated University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities; it is part of a national network of similar programs in major universities and teaching hospitals across the country. ICI’s collaborative research, training, and information-sharing ensure that people with disabilities are valued by, included in, and able to contribute to their communities of choice throughout their lifetime.