PODCAST
Advocating for Direct Support Professionals
Perspectives is dedicated to ensuring a livable wage and providing comprehensive training for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs). To enhance the professional environment for our DSPs, we launched the Project Align – DSP Workforce Initiative in 2020. This initiative focuses on elevating wages, reducing turnover, and recognizing DSP work as a valued profession. Over the past three years, our efforts have successfully improved workforce stability and quality, cutting turnover rates by more than 10 percentage points.Recognition from Industry Leaders
Amy Hewitt, director of ICI, praised our efforts, highlighting the impact of extensive training, credentialing, and recruiting strategies. She noted that such initiatives are “fundamentally improving the support that people with disabilities receive” and that by sharing successful strategies, “they will influence thousands more DSPs across the country.”In her letter accompanying the award application, Perspectives CEO Judy Niedbala emphasized the critical role of DSPs, calling them the “backbone” of our organization’s work. She highlighted that “everything our organization promises to do could not happen without the hard work and dedication of our DSPs.”
Upcoming Presentation at the Reinventing Quality Conference
As one of only two organizations nationwide to receive the 2024 Moving Mountains Award, Perspectives will accept the honor at the September 16 opening plenary of the Reinventing Quality conference in Baltimore. We'll also share details about our workforce initiatives in a breakout session later that day. The conference runs from September 15-17 at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel.We're incredibly proud of our DSPs and the positive impact they have on the lives of individuals with disabilities. This award is a testament to their dedication, as well as the effectiveness of our initiatives aimed at supporting and professionalizing the DSP workforce.
Thank you to ANCOR, ICI, and NADSP for this honor. We remain committed to advocating for our DSPs and enhancing the quality of life for the individuals we serve.