Incentives, wages, and retention among direct support professionals: National core indicators staff stability survey

Summary

The research paper "Incentives, wages, and retention among direct support professionals: National core indicators staff stability survey" by Pettingell, Houseworth, and Tichá (2022) investigates the factors influencing the retention of Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) who provide essential services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). High turnover among DSPs is a persistent problem, negatively affecting the daily lives and outcomes of those receiving support, such as their safety, community participation, and choice. It also imposes significant costs on provider organizations for recruitment and training. To explore these relationships, the study employed data from the National Core Indicators® (NCI®) Staff Stability Survey from 2018. This survey collects agency-level data on various aspects of the DSP workforce across participating states in the United States. The methodology focused on analyzing the associations between DSP wages, different types of incentives (including traditional benefits like paid time off, health insurance, disability insurance, and retirement plans, as well as other incentives like wage bonuses and health incentive programs), and annual turnover rates. The researchers aimed to determine which factors were most strongly correlated with DSP retention. The findings revealed that, contrary to expectations, the incentives offered by organizations were not positively associated with an increased retention of DSPs. This suggests that while organizations provide various benefits and bonuses to retain staff, these specific incentives did not demonstrate a significant impact on reducing turnover in this context. The study identified staff wages as the most significant factor linked to differences in DSP retention rates. Additionally, the state in which the organization was located and the organization's vacancy rates also played a role in retention. The average annual DSP turnover rate in the sample was 46%, with a particularly high turnover (38%) among DSPs employed for less than six months, indicating that early career stage is critical for retention. A substantial majority (72%) of DSPs who left their positions did so voluntarily. The paper underscores that increasing wages is a vital strategy for addressing the high turnover and vacancy rates within the DSP workforce, with suggestions that permanent pay increases may be more effective than one-time bonuses for achieving long-term staff stability.