DDS highlights DSP workforce push, launches job board and showcases new supportive housing and respite sites

The Department of Developmental Services told the Council on Developmental Services on July 17 that it is pursuing a multipronged effort to shore up the direct support professional workforce, including a public marketing campaign and a new statewide job board, dspjobs.ct.gov, that lists openings from qualified providers.

"People aren't gonna go and work in these jobs if they don't know about them. Right?" Mary Pat DeCarlo, director of workforce strategies at the Department of Developmental Services, said during a presentation to the council. DeCarlo said the department has worked with the Office of Workforce Strategies and providers to standardize job titles, training curricula and outreach.

The presentation cited several workforce metrics and program details discussed at the meeting: Connecticut’s most recent full-time staff vacancy rate for direct care was reported at about 17.7 percent; roughly 15 percent of new employees leave within six months; the state may have more than 5,000 DSP openings; and national estimates project the need for roughly 1.5 million direct care workers over the next decade. DeCarlo said standardized, entry-level training would provide a basic common curriculum so new workers would arrive with most required foundational training and providers would deliver remaining role-specific instruction.

As part of the outreach effort, DDS rolled out a marketing campaign with creative produced in multiple languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese and Polish) and a job board that DeCarlo said has participation from more than 100 providers and more than 270 posted positions. "The goals of the campaign were to educate the community about direct support professionals, implement a way for community members to gain information and apply directly to a qualified provider, and increase the numbers of DSPs," DeCarlo said.

Council members asked about building career pathways and specialty training. "Is there any talks of creating a, like, tiering system for DSPs?" Adrianna Ramirez, council member and parent, asked. DeCarlo said tiered pathways and specialization (for example, behavioral or medical-focused DSP levels) are part of the long-term vision but will be implemented incrementally: "Yes, that is absolutely my vision that we develop those pathways."

Council members also asked whether autism-specific training would be required in the standardized curriculum. DeCarlo said the entry-level program will include broad topics such as crisis and behavioral intervention and different disability types, but that deeper, specialized autism training would likely be provided at subsequent training levels by individual providers.

Deputy Commissioner Alisa Vilardo reported separate program developments that intersect with workforce and service capacity. Vilardo described a recently opened transition home in Bristol operated in partnership with Mid-State ARC: a community living arrangement with five individual apartments, shared common space and integrated assistive technology. "The concept is that people can live there up to 2 years and then would transition into a more individualized setting," Vilardo said. She also noted monthly tours of the state’s 12 respite centers (smart-home–equipped sites across the state) and highlighted a renovated supportive-housing project in New Britain called the Ellis Block, which Vilardo said had a ribbon-cutting and residents already engaged with local programming.

Shannon Jacovino, DDS ombudsperson, summarized her report and raised provider accountability as an ongoing concern, urging council members to refer families and individuals who need help. "People get paid to do a job. They should do it," Jacovino said.

Council members and DDS staff discussed complementary hiring resources. Kevin Bronson, Department of Developmental Services staff, and Vilardo described an existing platform used by people who self-direct services, called Rewarding Work, that allows employers and job seekers to match, and said it complements the provider-focused DSP job board.

Public comment included a brief personal account from Adrian Benjamin, a former council member, who described recent genetic testing for his adult daughter and a newly identified X‑chromosome change called DDX3X. "It's called DDX3X," Benjamin said. He described the result as "an enormous piece of information about why she's stuck the way she is," and urged families and clinicians to consider updated genetic testing when appropriate.

Council members requested future briefings on coordination with the Department of Social Services, particularly the autism waiver and case-management processes. Deputy commissioner Vilardo and staff asked council members to provide a list of specific questions so DDS could invite the appropriate DSS representatives.

Administrative and calendar items included an announcement that DDS and Special Olympics plan a unified barbecue competition event on Sept. 6 at Camp Harkness; staff said more details and a flyer will follow. The meeting ended after a motion and second to close the session; the motion was approved by voice vote.

The council does not meet in August; members were asked to send suggested questions for a proposed DSS presentation in September and to review the legislative tracking document DDS staff said they would circulate.

Ending: The council reconvenes in September; staff will circulate the legislative draft and event materials in advance. If council members want DSS to attend, they should submit targeted questions to the chair and staff so the department can identify the correct DSS speaker.