Direct Support Professionals: Diversity, Disparities, and Deepening Crisis.

In the United States, direct support professionals (DSPs) support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) so they can live in the community. Thirty years of deinstitutionalization and the development of community living options would not have been possible without DSPs. Although life for people with IDD improved greatly, working conditions, wages/benefits, demands, stress/burnout, and trauma experienced by DSPs have worsened. Turnover and vacancy rates threaten the availability of community supports for too many people with IDD. DSPs from diverse racial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds face significant workplace disparities. These issues were discussed during the Research and Training Center on Community Living's 2022 State of the Science Conference. We propose important research questions needing solutions to continue constructively addressing these critical issues.

Prevalence of Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Direct Support Professionals in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Field.

Direct support professionals (DSPs) are deemed by existing literature as vital support to persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD). They may be exposed to the traumatic experiences of people with IDD with potential psychological implications. Secondary traumatic stress (STS) has been studied among related professionals across human services, but little is known among DSPs. The current study examines the prevalence of STS in a sample of DSPs. The results suggested that DSPs are exposed to traumatic experiences, and exposure to a greater number of traumatized clients is significantly correlated with symptoms of STS. At least 12.4% of DSPs in this sample met the diagnostic criteria for experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Also, results suggest STS differences in DSPs based on demographics.