Case for Inclusion Data Snapshot: How a Workforce in Crisis is Jeopardizing Community Access
Download the Case for Inclusion Data Snapshot as a PDF
Building on the value of the Case for Inclusion, 2024 marks the start of a new series of reports designed to give you more targeted insights in a timelier manner. Known as Case for Inclusion Data Snapshots, this new series of data resources kicks off with the publication of this Snapshot on the state of access to home- and community-based services. We believe having shorter, more targeted briefs analyzing the most recent available data will allow us to identify and analyze timely trends to better support your advocacy.
Highlighted within each Data Snapshot are key findings selected from the nearly 80 measures that comprise the Case for Inclusion’s seven issue areas: Addressing a Workforce in Crisis, Promoting Independence, Promoting Productivity, Reaching Those in Need, Serving at a Reasonable Cost, Keeping Families Together, and Tracking Health, Safety & Quality of Life. These Snapshots are supplemented by our annual Policy Blueprint, typically released in the first quarter of the year to offer recommendations for policies that empower more sustainable services.
Key Findings
This inaugural Case for Inclusion Data Snapshot highlights that:
- Average hourly wages for direct support professionals (DSPs) increased from $14.41 in 2021 to $15.79 in 2022.
- Nationally in 2022, the average turnover ratio was 40.9%, while average vacancy rates for DSPs were 15.3% and 17.9% for full- and part-time positions, respectively.
- Nearly a half-million people in the US were on their state’s waiting list for IDD services in 2023. However, until recently that number did not include the number of people on states’ interest lists, giving us a more complete picture of unmet need. States that used the term interest list for people with IDD waiting for home- and community-based services included Michigan, Missouri, Texas and Wisconsin.
- On average, people with IDD spent 50 months waiting to receive services in 2023. This was the longest average wait time compared to other populations.
These insights are outlined in the Data Snapshot and supplemented by the Advocacy Blueprint, which outlines what all of us can do to support more inclusive state and federal programs.
Thank you for your advocacy on behalf of people with IDD.