Federal Push to Officially Recognize Direct Support Professionals: What a New Job Code Could Mean for Care

The Recognizing the Role of Direct Support Professionals Act is a short, procedural bill focused entirely on fixing a problem in how the federal government counts jobs. Specifically, it targets the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system, which is basically the government’s master list for statistical data on the workforce. This bill directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to seriously consider creating a brand-new, separate job code specifically for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs), classifying them under the healthcare support occupations category (Sec. 3). The core idea here is recognition: Congress explicitly finds that DSPs—the people providing daily, critical support so individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities can live independently—are currently misclassified, which hides a major workforce crisis.

The Data Problem Behind the Care Crisis

Think of DSPs as the essential backbone of community inclusion. They are the coaches and helpers assisting with everything from meal prep and shopping to navigating public transit and finding employment (Sec. 2). However, the bill points out that providers who hire these crucial workers are facing a massive retention problem, citing a national turnover rate of 39 percent. That’s nearly four out of ten people leaving the job every year. When the government can’t accurately track these workers because they are lumped in with other categories like home health aides, it makes it nearly impossible to understand the true scope of the staffing shortage or stabilize the workforce. This bill is essentially trying to shine a spotlight on that 39% turnover rate by giving the job its own statistical box.

Why a New Code Matters to Real People

For the busy person, this might sound like pure bureaucratic jargon, but it has real-world consequences for families and workers. If the OMB creates this new code, it means better, cleaner data on the DSP workforce. For a parent relying on a DSP to help their adult child maintain a job, better data could eventually lead to better policy—like targeted funding or wage adjustments—aimed at reducing that crippling turnover rate. When DSPs leave, the stability of the people they support is immediately threatened, potentially derailing years of progress toward independence. For the DSP themselves, formal recognition validates the complexity and necessity of their work, distinguishing it from general home care. It’s about finally treating this career as the specialized healthcare support role it is.

The Catch: It’s a Mandate to 'Consider'

While the bill is strong on intent, it’s procedural and non-committal on the outcome. The OMB Director is directed to “consider revising” the SOC system during its next revision to include the new code (Sec. 3). They are not strictly mandated to create it. However, if the Director decides not to establish the separate code, the bill requires them to submit a report to Congress within 30 days explaining that decision (Sec. 4). This essentially forces the OMB to publicly justify the continued misclassification. One final, important detail: Section 5 explicitly states that this Act does not authorize the appropriation of any new funds. This bill is purely about data collection and recognition; it won't directly fund higher DSP wages or new services, but it creates the statistical foundation necessary for future funding discussions.