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AUSTIN, TX – In case you missed it, Joseph Cooper, CEO of Vita Living and Time To Care Coalition member, was featured in a recent report from ABC 13 in Houston highlighting the urgent need for the Texas Legislature to raise wages for direct support professionals (DSPs) who serve Texans with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD). Joined by Virginia Atubegu, a frontline DSP, Cooper spotlighted the growing crisis threatening group homes across Texas and the essential, life-changing care DSPs deliver to Texans with IDD. Their message to lawmakers was clear: without action, this vital workforce and the stability of the IDD community are at risk.

Cooper shared his firsthand experience of the crisis through his work for the Houston-area nonprofit that serves hundreds of Texans with IDD, highlighting how chronic underfunding is pushing workers out of the profession and forcing many providers to close their doors, leaving Texas’ most vulnerable population without critical care and support:

“In everything we do, we try to make them fit in and enjoy being with them every day.”

“If it wasn’t for them (the caregivers) 24 hours, seven days a week, 365 days a year, where would these people be? They would be in state institutions. They would be on the streets. They’d be in prison. That’s what we all worry, and tremble, and pray about. There are some providers that are closing their group homes.”

Group homes across Texas are grappling with a staggering 33.5% vacancy rate, driven by high turnover as DSPs struggle to make ends meet on just $10.60 an hour. Cooper underscored the urgency for the 89th Texas Legislature to act, calling on lawmakers to use the House’s biennial budget surplus to raise the wage rate to $17.50 per hour for community-based DSPs:

            “Increasing the wages would go a long way in stabilizing the workforce.”

Houston-area State Representative Armando Walle, a member of the House Budget Conference Committee, also weighed in on the severity of the crisis and emphasized the tireless, day-to-day care that DSPs provide to Texans with IDD:

“We’re focused on those people, those staff members that really need a raise. We need to take care of those workers again. These are hardworking people. It’s a hard job, and they’re taking care of the most vulnerable of Texans.”

Virginia Atubegu, a devoted caregiver at Vita Living, closed the segment with a powerful call to action – shining a light on the deepening crisis that’s leaving Texans with IDD without the essential care and support they deserve.

“I’d like to see the state do more because the ladies and the men of the DSP staff, they give their all. They give their all. They need to be appreciated more for what they do.”

To read and watch the full report from ABC 13, 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 at https://timetocaretx.org/

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