Sec. 201. Findings
261 words·~1 min read·
/bill/118/s/762/is/section-201·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds the following: Direct support professionals play a critical role in the care provided to children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Providers of home and community-based services are experiencing difficulty hiring and retaining direct support professionals, with a national turnover rate of 45 percent as identified in a 2016 study by the National Core Indicators. High turnover rates can lead to instability for individuals receiving services, and this may result in individuals not receiving enough personalized care to help them reach their goals for independent living.
A discrete occupational category for direct support professionals will help States and the Federal Government— better interpret the shortage in the labor market of direct support professionals; and collect data on the high turnover rate of direct support professionals. The Standard Occupational Classification system is designed and maintained solely for statistical purposes, and is used by Federal statistical agencies to classify workers and jobs into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, analyzing, or disseminating data.
Occupations in the Standard Occupational Classification system are classified based on work performed and, in some cases, on the skills, education, or training needed to perform the work. Establishing a discrete occupational category for direct support professionals will— correct an inaccurate representation in the Standard Occupational Classification system; recognize these professionals for the critical and often times overlooked work that they perform for the disabled community, which work is different than the work of a home health aide or a personal care aide; and better align the Standard Occupational Classification system with related classification systems.