“Nobody really wants to work for $10.60 an hour in any industry, and this is an especially tough industry.”

AUSTIN, TX – In case you missed it, Time To Care coalition member Spectrum of Solutions was recently featured on NewsWest9 in Midland, Texas, highlighting the acute challenges faced by direct support professionals (DSPs) who serve Texans with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Spectrum of Solutions Executive Director Kayla Minchew explained the struggles of recruiting and retaining qualified staff willing to work for the hourly rate set by the Texas legislature for community-based DSPs:

“Nobody really wants to work for $10.60 an hour in any industry, and this is an especially tough industry…Not having adequately funded positions, like these direct care positions, significantly affects the amount of care we can provide, who we can provide it to – it’s creating a huge shortage here at Spectrum of Solutions but really across the entire state.

“Clients aren’t getting served because there’s just not anybody there to serve them.” 

Watch the full story:

Larry Hill, a founding member of the Time To Care coalition, explains how DSPs handle a wide range of tasks on a daily basis when serving their fellow Texans with IDD:

“They are dealing with tasks of daily living skills, but also, they may be dealing with behavioral support. They may be doing medically related (tasks), such as medication administration, they may change a colostomy bag, they may do a tube feeding.

“This is the most vulnerable population in Texas, and we need to take care of them.”

Low wages are driving a workforce crisis among IDD service providers. In the past year alone, more than 230 group homes similar to Spectrum of Solutions closed down in Texas.

To address this crisis, the Time to Care coalition is urging state leaders to authorize an emergency appropriations request to ensure that individuals with IDD aren’t left behind.

Minchew expressed hope that state leaders will take action to increase wages for community-based DSPs to competitive levels in order to better serve the IDD community in Texas:

“If we have those appropriate wages for those direct care staff, we’re going to be able to provide better quality services, we’re going to be able to reach more individuals with intellectual disabilities and they deserve the same great life that we all have.”