“In the past year alone, 179 group homes and 50 intermediate care facilities have closed due to this crisis. Unfortunately, there are more closures on the horizon if the Legislature fails to address the persistently low wage rates for community-based DSPs. Last session, the Legislature set DSP wage reimbursements at $10.60 an hour…We can see clearly from the data that I’m discussing that the modest increase did not stem the workforce crisis – in fact, it has only exacerbated it.”

• Beanca Williams, Regional IDD Director, Volunteers of America – Texas

“This service delivery system is fragile at best, as evidenced by hundreds of group home closures last year and hundreds more this year. With more than a third of DSP positions remaining unfilled, how can providers operate? We are putting one of our most vulnerable populations at risk…We must make sure our state legislators know that Texans with IDD are losing the quality care that they depend on to live. Direct support professionals are being grossly underpaid in Texas at a rate set by the Legislature of only $10.60 an hour – that’s $22,000 per year, in the 8^th largest economy in the world…IDD service providers across the state are operating with an average of one-third of their positions being unfilled…I’d like to ask all of our state leaders: What business can operate with one-third of its staff absent? As someone with a background in business and leadership, I’m happy to answer that question: no business can.”

• Charles Njuguna, President & CEO, Center For Pursuit

“The shortage of DSPs affects more than just the IDD community–it also poses a significant public safety risk. When individuals with IDD lack proper support, they can end up in situations that lead to homelessness, hospitalization, and even incarceration, which further burdens our state’s social service and emergency resources. We cannot afford to overlook this risk. Providing DSPs with a competitive wage is essential if we want to ensure that Texans with IDD have the empathetic, loving, and safe environments they deserve, staffed with qualified, passionate, and properly compensated individuals. The issue can’t wait – I urge our state’s leaders to act now.”

• Michael Roberts, Executive Director, Down Syndrome Association of Houston

“It is disheartening that non-profits like us rely on donors to make up the lack of support for DSPs that we receive from the State of Texas. Many other providers and non-profits simply do not have the resources to continually fundraise just so they can pay their DSPs a competitive wage and maintain the continuity of care that’s required for supporting people in the IDD community. DSPs need and deserve competitive wages now, and with appropriate funding rates from our Legislature…Everyone here knows that it is nearly impossible to recruit and retain good staff at the current reimbursement rate of $10.60 an hour…What does this say about the Legislature’s priorities? Well, for me it tells us – and all the good people I have the fortune work with – that the IDD services community is afterthought, and that needs to change now. How do we ensure the health and safety of people with IDD without experienced staff? We can’t. We’re seeing the system collapse all over the state.”

• Steve Vetrano, CEO, Avondale House

To learn more about the current workforce crisis impacting community-based 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/

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