The day we received Brantley’s diagnosis, the psychologist who evaluated him recommended I quit my job.
I didn’t heed their advice. I thought their recommendation was simply due to the busy schedule of a mom caring for a child with special needs and I thought “hah, I can manage, I thrive under pressure” But I wonder if there was more to their advice? Was it warning to the fact that there is an extreme shortage of providers and childcare options in the special needs community, especially in rural areas?
While we are so lucky to have the kindest and most patient woman come to our home and help care for Brantley on occasion. Her availability is limited and we are always on edge, knowing that she too will soon move on from our little world of chaos. We are always in a constant panic of “what will we do then”.
Direct Services Professionals (DSP’s) are the angels who care for people with disabilities. Unfortunately, there is a National shortage of DSP’s and finding one is nearly impossible.
The agency we we use for our DSP currently pays only $12.75 per hour. While it can be very rewarding, it is also a very difficult job that comes with a side of hair pulling, biting and poop smearing.
Ask yourself if you would tolerate the above behaviors from your employer for only $510 a week in gross pay.
DSP rates in Ohio will increase significantly in 2024, with a 30% increase in January and another 8% increase in July. While I am hopeful the increases will help attract more DSP’s to the field, I question how much of the slotted raises will be passed onto the DSP’s. When I questioned our current agency on the matter, they would not provide hard numbers but eluded that some of the raise would be retained by the agency themselves. The actual providers not getting the entire increased rates defeats the purpose of increasing provider rates.
We need to do better, our peers and children with disabilities depend on it.
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