FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 17, 2024

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“To find folks who are willing to do that job, to be committed to that job caring for someone’s loved one, for $10.60 an hour is just very, very difficult.“

AUSTIN, TX – In case you missed it, earlier this week ABC 13 in Houstonfeatured voices from leadership and staff at two Houston-area organizations – T.E.A.M. Abilities and Avondale House – who discussed the ongoing workforce crisis impacting direct support professionals (DSPs) who serve Texans with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) due to persistent low average hourly wages. This week, Time To Care released new data showing that more than a third of staff positions at community-based facilities serving Texans with IDD are vacant, severely impacting their ability to deliver quality care to the most vulnerable Texans.

Steve Vetrano, CEO of Avondale House, summarized the workforce crisis with one number – the current average wage set by the Texas Legislature for community-based DSPs serving Texans with IDD:

“To find folks who are willing to do that job, to be committed to that job caring for someone’s loved one, for $10.60 an hour, is just very, very difficult.”

To watch the full story, click here or on the image below:

Tiffany Batiste is a long-time DSP working at T.E.A.M. Abilities, a member of the Time To Care coalition, and while she loves the work that she does, she says she understands the financial challenges others face when entering the profession:

“I do it because I like to help people, and I like the smiles and the joy that we get from the members on a day to day…

“I think there’s not a lot of people that do what we do – it’s because of the money. They need to be able to provide for their families.”

With staff vacancies at community-based IDD service providers rising to an unsustainable 33-34% over the past year, providers are seeking immediate, emergency relief from the Legislature to address this crisis and ensure quality of care for the IDD community is not compromised. T.E.A.M. Abilities CEO Rachel Jelks expressed her concern about retaining the type of top-quality staff she needs to care for the adult Texans with IDD her organization serves:

“We need more staff, we need to be able to pay them more, so we can have good staff there…

“You’ve got to find the people with the passion. The ‘no’s are hard…you’re already paying them very cheap, and then you have to make sure they have passion for our people.”

Vetrano still worries that without a wage increase from the Texas Legislature, more DSPs will be forced to find jobs in different industries that offer higher wages. This means, ultimately, Texans with IDD and their families will struggle to receive the consistent, reliable support they need:

“Like everyone, our costs have gone up, utilities have gone up, gas has gone up, food has gone up, labor costs have certainly gone up and the reimbursements that we receive have pretty much not gone up.”

To watch the full story from ABC 13’s This Week in Texas, please click here.

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