People With Disabilities Deserve Essential Services
Direct Support Professionals Deserve Better Than Minimum Wage
The General Assembly has taken meaningful steps to address the Direct Support Professional (DSP) staffing crisis. Providers are finally starting to turn the corner. Please don't stop now!!!
With your help we can:
•Achieve a sustainable DSP wage
•Ensure long term stability so the support system for people with disabilities doesn’t slide back into crisis
There are STILL:
• UNFILLED positions
• 16,000+ on the wait list -- NO ability to expand access to services
• EXCESSIVE overtime, NOT reimbursed by the state
SUPPORT THE PATH TO 150% OF MINIMUM WAGE
Despite legislative support, we've gone backwards.
In FY2020: 140% Today: 137%
A HUGE STEP BACKWARDS
• The Governor's proposed FY26 state budget includes a 50 cent-per-hour DSP wage increase
• However, the budget also includes a 50% rollback of the CILA rate adjustment factor
• What does this mean?
• Loss of at least 435 DSPs statewide . . . dedicated staff who provide 24/7 support to people with disabilities
• This is a cut of $32 million from the community residential system
People with disabilities STILL face widespread uncertainty and insufficient services
• 16K+ people stuck on the waitlist with no services
• 50K home based caregivers are age 60 or older 1 - What happens when they’re gone?
• 28% of providers have turned away new service referrals due to DSP staffing 2
• 75% of DSPs are women and about half are minorities. 2
• Illinois ranks 46th in support of community-based services 1
1The State of the States in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Community Fiscal Effort FY 2019-2021 (Published 2024)
2NCI-IDD State of the Workforce in 2023 (Published 2024)
