Why the Re-Introduction of the Recognizing the Role of Direct Support Professionals Act Matters
You can’t fix what you can’t see.
For too long, the role of Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) has been mischaracterized. Denied of their own Standard Occupational Classification (SOC), DSPs have been lumped in with roles that share some of the same responsibilities, but are different. This has made it difficult to collect accurate data on employment, wages and workforce trends. Government agencies, employers, and researchers use that information to report labor statistics, including employment numbers and wages.
Advocates, including members of Mosaic’s workforce, are pushing to get DSPs their own SOC. What began with petitions to the federal Office of Management and Budget and legislative advocacy has now moved to the halls of Congress with the introduction of the Recognizing the Role of Direct Support Professionals Act.
Why do DSPs need their own classification?
DSPs play a vital role in helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and other diverse needs thrive in their communities. However, low wages driven by insufficient reimbursement rates have led to high DSP turnover and role vacancies.
Cheryl Wicks, Mosaic Vice President of External Affairs, said the Recognizing the Role of a Direct Support Professionals Act, which was first introduced in 2020 and reintroduced in each subsequent year, most recently in November 2025, would open the door to more accurate data collection to address those issues.
Currently, DSPs share an SOC with home health or personal care aides, which Wicks said isn’t a fair representation of their scope of work.
How are DSPs different from other care providers?
Traci Gruenberger, State Operations Director for Mosaic in Arizona and Soreo, a service of Mosaic, said while DSPs do similar work as home-health and other care providers, their work doesn’t stop there.
“Our DSPs do a lot of habilitation skill-building activities. They are teaching people how to gain new skills, or maintain skills they have,” she said. “That work isn’t captured anywhere in the current classifications.”
Andy Taranko, State Operations Director for Living Innovations in Maine, a service of Mosaic, agreed DSPs role is unique.
“Direct Support Professionals focus on empowering individuals to be independent in their communities by teaching daily life skills and more,” he said. “Working with the individual rather than for the individual, the Direct Support Professional is there to help someone with IDD realize their full potential at home and in their community.”
What could result from the legislation’s passage?
Wicks said passing the Recognizing the Role of a Direct Support Professionals Act could lead to:
- Better policies that address high turnover and vacancy rates in the DSP workforce.
- A better understanding of DSP workforce trends and how to address workforce shortages.
- Better workforce retention and job satisfaction by formally recognizing DSPs as a professional role.
Taranko and Gruenberger said supporting the legislation is one way Congress can recognize the important contributions that DSPs make in their community.
“Not only do they provide emotional support and overall care for people, they also advocate for their needs and teach them how to advocate for themselves,” Taranko said. “This support system creates stronger, more inclusive communities.”
Gruenberger added that a separate classification would recognize a DSP as a professional role, which is key to recruiting and addressing workforce shortages.
“We want people to know they can come work for Mosaic, Living Innovations and Soreo and make it their career,” Gruenberger said.
What has Mosaic been doing to advocate for its DSPs?
With reintroduced legislation now in the hands of Congress, advocacy efforts are in full swing. Wicks and representatives from partner organizations, like ANCOR, continue to meet with members of Congress to share the legislation’s importance and encourage members to sign on as co-sponsors.
Taranko said members of the Maine Association for Community Service Providers, of which Living Innovations is a member, have worked alongside senators from their state, including Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who is a co-sponsor of the bill.
DSPs, like Marguerite Weymouth, who has worked for Living Innovations in Maine for four years, have also been actively advocating.
“It is important for Congress to know and understand what we do and why we love what we do,” Weymouth said after meeting with Sen. Collins during a Hill Day sponsored by ANCOR last fall. “We need as many voices as possible.”
Weymouth said Sen. Collins appeared interested in what she and others had to say and understood what the work they do means to the individual’s DSPs support.
On the House side, co-sponsors of the bill include Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ). Wicks and Gruenberger have and continue to engage with the representative’s staff, both in D.C. and at his state office.
Want to show your support?
The best way to lend your voice is to visit Mosaic Allied Voices and respond to our “Action Alert” asking members of Congress to support the Recognizing the Role of a Direct Support Professional Act. (Also, “Become an Advocate” to receive updates and future Action Alerts.)
Wicks said advocacy efforts are hitting a critical point as the Office of Management and Budget reviews the 2028 SOC Manual.
“If a profession misses a revision window, they often have to wait another decade for a formal change, which is why advocates are currently pushing so hard for the 2028 update,” she said. “Missing this cycle could delay the classification until 2038.”
DSPs need your support. Your voice can make a difference.