Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) are the backbone of the workforce behind community living and service support models for individuals living with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD) and seniors.
For more than thirty years, the DSP workforce has been one of the most unstable workforces nationwide. Recently, statistics showed that annual turnover rates for DSPs were at 50%, in comparison to the average 3% turnover rate across all jobs. Of course, the economic crisis of COVID-19 has created even more instability.
So what is GoodLife going to do to tackle this challenge?
We know labor challenges are not going away, so we will continue our commitment to partner with agencies to streamline processes, save money, and expand the capacity of the DSP workforce. We’re taking initiative to reexamine pay and benefits strategies, outreach, policies, public funding, and more.
To that end, we’re excited to introduce GoodLife U, a full and integrated toolbox of accessible, practical, and affordable solutions for providers of community-based services that will enable doing more with less: enriching the lives of individuals served and DSPs.
In 2020 we took viewers on a Quest for the GoodLife but to help you understand what GoodLife U offers, we are launching a new monthly video blog series from our own president and CEO, Dr. Mike Strouse.
Dr. Strouse has led GoodLife Innovations, Inc., and its subsidiaries for more than three decades. His extensive work encompasses research, development, refinement, and dissemination of evidence-based, nationally-regarded, community service models that consistently produce person-centered care and high quality-of-life outcomes for those served.
You will hear from Dr. Strouse first-hand in GoodLife U, a year-long series that will be as educational as it will be insightful. Topics will cover the DSP workforce challenges and the shifting paradigm of care for individuals with I/DD and seniors.
The series will include focused discussions in the following areas:
- A National Direct Support Crisis: How we got to where we are today
- Reasons for Staff Instability
- Policy and Public-Funding Barriers to Overcome
- Who are Direct Support Professionals and What do they Want?
- GoodLife’s Win-Win-Win (W3) Service Approach
- How we Measure Success for Improving Workforce Stability & Capacity
- Front/Back Half Schedule Strategies
- Compensation & PTO Strategies (including DSP Payday and Benefits Strategies)
- GoodLife’s Live With, By, and Near Direct Support Strategies
- Workforce Management Strategies
- GoodLife Processes for Recruiting, Hiring, and Training DSPs
- GoodLife U’s Impact
- Our Approach for Helping Others
- Cultivating Long-term Partnerships and Co-operatives + A Call for Social Investments
We look forward to having you join us for every episode of GoodLife U!
