The Kansas Alliance for Direct Support Professionals
The Kansas Chapter of the National Alliance for Direct
Support Professionals
Our Mission:
Improving the quality of support for the people with disabilities in
the state of Kansas by recognizing and strengthening the role of the
Direct Support Professional ( DSP).
The Kansas Alliance for Direct Support Professionals
(KADSP) is the Kansas chapter of the National Alliance for Direct Support
Professionals
(NADSP). Be a charter member! Contact Kathy
Olson for details.
What is the NADSP?
The NADSP is a coalition of organizations and individuals committed to
strengthening the direct support workforce. The group has representatives
from the fields of mental health, developmental disabilities, child welfare,
education, and many others in the human services community.
The NADSP believes that service participants and direct support professionals
are partners in the move toward a self-determined life, and the complementing
and facilitating growth of natural supports. It recognizes that people
needing support are more likely to fulfill their life dreams if they have
well trained, experienced, and motivated people at their side in long-term,
stable, compatible support relationships. It also recognizes that well-planned
developmental strategies are needed to strengthen the workforce.
The National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals has developed
a national agenda to address conditions chronicled over the past 25 years
that are harmful to people who rely on human services. These conditions
include:
- High staff turnover
- Low social status
- Insufficient training
- Limited educational and career opportunities
- Poor wages
These conditions undermine the commitment of Direct Support Professionals,
and have made it difficult to recruit and train qualified and committed
individuals in direct support roles in every area of human services.
How much do you know about the job duties of a direct support professional?
Direct Support Professionals are required to fulfill many roles for the
persons they support. These roles include:
- Bookkeeper
- Purchasing agent
- Nursing tasks
- Property manager
- Safety inspector
- Companion
- Housekeeper
- Chef
- Diplomat in conflict resolution
- Personal care attendant
Direct Support Professionals are the foundation upon which community
services are built. Their work is carried out 24 hours a day, 365 days
a year. The developmental disability service system never closes.
Direct Support Professionals are accountable for health, safety, well-being
and community inclusion of the people they serve. The potential outcome
of failure to carry out their obligations could decrease the quality of
life for people who receive their support, or even result in death. The
cost of failure is incalculably higher than most other occupations that
pay comparably.
Many of these Direct Support Professionals hold two, if not three, jobs
in order to make ends meet. They love what they do for the persons served,
but they cannot feed and house themselves, let alone their families, on
$7.68/hour.
Facts to think about!
|
Average annual amount
spent per person on disability services in a state institution
Average annual amount
spent per person on disability services in the community |
$124,283
$ 35,000 |
|
Starting wage for Direct Support Professional working for
a community disability provider
Starting pay for state hospital support worker |
$7.68/hour
$10.51/hour |
|
Current maximum state reimbursement for Direct Support Professional
– community disability provider
Average pay for state hospital support worker |
$7.68/hour
$12.06/hour |
|
Average daily census in the state institutions (1972): 2,077
Average daily census in state institutions (2002): 379 |
|
If these are issues you care about, attend a meeting of the KADSP, become
a charter member, be heard! Contact Kathy
Olson for more information phone: 620.421.6550 extension 1771 or
write her at: 2601 Gabriel Parsons, Kansas 67357
Questions? Feedback about the web site? eMail the webmaster at kolson@ku.edu
The University of Kansas is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
Updated 4/3/07 |
