DDS service coordinators urge Group 2 retirement classification, citing safety and direct care duties
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Summary
Service coordinators and supervisors from DDS urged the committee to support House Bill 2943 to reclassify certain DDS positions as Group 2 for retirement eligibility.
Service coordinators and supervisors from the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) urged the Joint Committee on Public Service to support House Bill 2943, which would make certain DDS service coordinators and supervisors eligible for Group 2 retirement classification.
Several SEIU Local 509 members and DDS employees described frequent direct, in‑person work with individuals who have intellectual and developmental disabilities and often co‑occurring mental health or substance use conditions, homelessness, or criminal justice involvement. Testimony emphasized home visits, crisis response, transport to medical and court appointments, temporary direct care in group homes during staffing crises and repeated exposure to hazardous or unpredictable settings.
Barbara Papa, a service coordinator supervisor in the Fall River area office, said service coordinators visit homes and group settings that can contain weapons, drugs, hostile family members and unsanitary conditions. “We work collaboratively with our sister agencies, local police departments, our behavioral health partners, and hospital staff to meet the needs of the people we support,” she said.
Kathy Cole, a transition service coordinator with 32 years at DDS, testified that service coordinators regularly provide direct personal care, manage crisis responses and—during staffing crises—worked multiple shifts in group homes while maintaining caseload responsibilities. “Our role in this is taken so seriously that we are considered caretakers in the eyes of the Disabled Persons Protection Commission,” she said, noting potential liability if supervision lapses.
Other witnesses described being threatened, physically assaulted, encountering drug exchanges, and responding to psychiatric emergencies. Several testified that the work meets Group 2 criteria for care, custody and instruction and recommended the committee report H.2943 favorably.
No formal committee vote or amendment on H.2943 was recorded during the hearing.
