Hourly pay is on the rise for direct support professionals, but advocates say that doesn’t appear to be enough to forestall the barriers facing people with developmental disabilities seeking services.

Across the nation, hourly wages for direct support professionals averaged $15.79 in 2022, exceeding $15 per hour for the first time ever.

Despite the increase, however, the turnover rate in the field remained over 40%, leaving many service providers struggling to maintain enough staff to support people with developmental disabilities living in the community.

The figures come from a report issued by United Cerebral Palsy and the American Network of Community Options and Resources, or ANCOR, which represents disability service providers nationally. Traditionally, the advocacy groups have released an annual “Case for Inclusion” report assessing how well states are supporting people with developmental disabilities in the community. The new brief is the first in a series of “data snapshots” released under that umbrella.

In an ANCOR survey late last year, 77% of providers said they were refusing or no longer accepting referrals and 44% had discontinued offerings. The majority indicated that they were considering additional service cuts.

Providers got some help from the 2021 American Rescue Plan, a pandemic relief package that included $26.3 billion to improve recruitment and retention of direct care providers, according to the report. But, that money — which the advocacy groups say is largely responsible for the increase in DSP wages — must be used up by March 31, 2025.

“Increased hourly wages and reduced turnover and vacancy rates highlight providers’ desire to offer proper compensation and actively engage in strategies to help recruit, hire and retain direct support professionals. With increased resources due to state and federal action, including emergency funding from the American Rescue Plan, it’s clear that providers are eager and willing to address the ongoing workforce crisis — they just need the support to do so,” said Barbara Merrill, chief executive officer at ANCOR.

As of 2022, average vacancy rates for full-time DSPs remained at over 15%, the report indicates. And, wages in some states like Louisiana and Alabama were still under $11 per hour.

Meanwhile, more than half a million Americans with developmental disabilities were on state waiting lists for services last year, with waits averaging 50 months, data shows.

“Decades of underinvestment in the Medicaid program, in which reimbursement rates are set by states and financed with federal matching funds, have effectively rendered providers powerless to raise wages to a competitive level,” said Armando Contreras, president and CEO at United Cerebral Palsy. “Without meaningful action to support the direct care workforce, and the indispensable services direct support professionals provide, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities will continue to spend years waiting for services, delaying their fundamental right to live in their communities and in the most integrated settings possible.”