Please advocate for necessary funding to give DSPs a wage commensurate

• Oct 25, 2023

The care provided to adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities in group homes is suffering greatly from lack of direct support professionals (DSP): those who provide hands-on care to residents. The average hourly wage for DSPs in group homes is $15.23.

Here are some NJ average hourly wages for comparison.

Bank teller:                                      $17.00

Gas station attendant:               $15.57

DSP:                                      $15.23

Starbucks barista:                        $14.67

When you consider the job responsibilities of these positions, it becomes fairly obvious that DSPs are very underpaid for what they do in caring for one of our most vulnerable populations., making it very difficult to fill the many vacant DSP positions.

Please advocate for necessary funding to give DSPs a wage commensurate with their responsibilities.

Here’s a link to an ABC News broadcast segment on the issue: https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Wellness/video/growing-concerns-group-homes-104193083

FYI: the average wage data was taken today from Zip recruiter (gas station), and Indeed (barista and bank teller). THANKS!!!