AUSTIN, TX – In case you missed it, the recently published Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute (TCCRI) Healthcare and Human Services Task Force Report called on the Texas Legislature to immediately address the crisis facing community-based services for Texans with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD). TCCRI’s report includes a policy recommendation for Texas budget writers to make a “significant investment” in order to raise the hourly wage reimbursement rate for community-based direct support professionals (DSPs) who serve Texans with IDD, who are currently funded at just $10.60 per hour.

The report recognizes the need to address the severe workforce crisis that has left one-third of staff positions vacant at Home and Community-based Services (HCS) group homes and Intermediate Care Facilities (ICFs) across the state, threatening the continuity of care for Texas’ most vulnerable residents:

“IDD community-based providers report declining quality of care as exhausted and shorthanded staff attempt to support their clients with IDD, to the point that administrative employees are being assigned to direct care duties…”

“…Some providers are simply not able to accept referrals due to their staffing shortages. From January 2023 through February 2024, 50 community-based ICFs/IID and 179 HCS group homes closed, and those numbers will continue to rise as providers overcome temporary obstacles to closing group homes, such as terminating lease commitments and identifying buyers…”

“…The state has entered a crisis with respect to the staffing shortages at IDD community-based group homes.”

The Task Force report makes clear that Texans with IDD and the people who serve them cannot afford further delay and calls for urgent action by the Texas Legislature to enhance compensation for community-based DSPs during the 89^th Legislative Session:

“Waiting to address this issue until FY 2026 is inadvisable. This pay increase would require a significant investment by the state- approximately $255 million in revenue for the 2026-2027 biennium…”

“…the funds required to make this critical adjustment should be available given the current biennium is expected to end with a healthy budget surplus of an estimated $23.8 billion.”

To read TCCRI’s Healthcare and Human Services Task Force report, click here.

To read more about how the Texas Legislature can stem this crisis and restore stability to community IDD services in Texas, click here.

Time To Care: Save Texas Caregivers Now is a coalition dedicated to securing competitive wages for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) who provide essential care to Texans with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD). Through collaboration and grassroots efforts, the coalition strives to enact meaningful change at both the legislative and community levels. Learn more about how to get involved at https://timetocaretx.org/