Advocating for a Federal Occupation Code

By Marisa Geitner

As we celebrate 40 years of services in the communities of the Rochester and the Buffalo-Niagara regions, I continue to stress the importance of the work of direct support staff members in the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Their work is compassionate, skilled and essential; frankly, without them, our industry wouldn’t exist.

For years, we have worked with advocacy groups such as the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals to push for a distinct standard occupational code for the direct support professional title. In addition to recognizing and advancing the direct support profession as a career, this code would assist research efforts to address workforce challenges. Earlier this year, the United States Senate and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce voted to establish this occupational code, a major step in the right direction.

Unfortunately, people in direct support positions have historically faced challenges related to wages commensurate with their contributions and skills, recognition and career advancement. What we have seen in recent years is direct support professionals leaving agencies, and even the industry as a whole, for higher paying positions. Not only is their work crucial — the bonds direct support professionals form with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities create a sense of familiarity that is essential for trust in their care relationship. It is very difficult to facilitate these relationships when turnover in programs is high; in NYS, as high as one in three direct support professionals change jobs each year, according to New York Disability Advocates. A new federal occupational code is an important step in ensuring this profession is recognized and given the competitive and necessary edge it deserves.

In this crucial time for our industry, we must work together to bring this vision to life. Partner agencies such as ANCOR have created resources that will allow you to contact the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and let them know why we need this occupation code. The OMB will only be accepting these perspectives until August 12, so please consider sharing the news with your personal network and speak out about why you believe we need a federal occupation code. You can do so by following this link to ANCOR’s resource: ancor.org/actions/tell-omb-why-a-soc-code-is-crucial-for-dsps/.