Building Career Pathways for Direct Support Professionals
The Importance of Direct Support Professionals
For many people with disabilities, direct support professionals (DSPs) are essential for participation in daily activities, community life, and employment. Often, it is DSPs, including employment support professionals, who make independent living and workplace success possible for disabled people. In addition, the role of DSP is not only critical for supporting people with disabilities but is in itself a career in which job seekers with disabilities may thrive.
ON TOPIC
Recruiting and Retaining DSPs
Despite the vital role that DSPs play, there is a severe shortage of workers in the field — a national deficit that has not yet attracted the level of interest from job seekers or the workforce system that it merits. Addressing this challenge will require multiple strategies, such as professionalizing the field, removing barriers to hiring more people with disabilities, and strengthening training and career development.
DSPs provide disabled people with a range of supports, from job coaching and exploration of assistive technology solutions to health care and daily living needs. Job seekers with a variety of skills and interests can make excellent DSPs, and from this role, people can move through many different career paths, including education, health care, and rehabilitation.
Keep reading for resources and strategies to strengthen the field of DSPs, including:
- A career exploration tool to inspire current and future DSPs;
- Success stories about DSP pilot programs in Georgia; and
- Webinars and other resources focused on DSPs.
New Tool to Support Exciting Career Exploration for DSPs
The LEAD Center has a new infographic for current DSPs, job seekers, and workforce professionals, highlighting the many potential pathways for career and salary advancement available to DSPs. The infographic shows four career quadrants: education, clinical health care, employment and rehabilitation support, and community and social services. Within each occupational category, the infographic notes specific careers, the level of education or training required, and average yearly salaries. For example, for DSPs interested in entering the field of clinical health care, the infographic shows a potential career as a dietitian or nutritionist and indicates that this job requires a bachelor’s degree and earns an average yearly salary of $90,000.
The infographic further outlines steps DSPs can take to begin their career journey and includes links to tools that help users build skills and explore different career options. Each job title in the infographic also links to My Next Move, an interactive career exploration site that provides detailed information on each job’s tasks, prerequisites, and more.
ON THE GROUND
Promising Practices from Georgia
In January 2024, Georgia started three yearlong pilot programs to support DSPs in gaining a competency-based certification that recognizes their knowledge and ability to work with people with neurodiversity or developmental disabilities in community-based settings.
Each of the pilots’ pathways to certification included approximately 50 hours of competency-based online instruction and an assessment that led to a DSP entry-level credential (DSP-I) or higher. There was no cost to DSPs for participating, and each DSP who earned a certification received a one-time bonus/stipend. Each pilot had a goal of supporting 200 DSPs to earn a certification by January 2025, but the program was extended to increase impact.
All pathways were rooted in workforce development strategies to improve workforce recruitment and retention, including the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Certified Direct Support Professional Apprenticeship program (administered by River Edge Behavioral Health), the National Alliance of Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) E-Badge Academy program (administered by United Cerebral Palsy), and the Direct Support Professional Training and Assessment Program (DSP TAP) led by the Institute on Human Development and Disability (IHDD/UCEDD) at the University of Georgia.
An initial external evaluation of the pilot programs, including a survey of participants, found impressive results. Percentage of positive responses to the topics queried, below:
- Organizational satisfaction: 100% across pilots
- DSP satisfaction: 98% (DSP TAP), 90% (DOL), 87% (NADSP)
- DSP intent to stay in the field for at least six years: 82% (NADSP), 81% (DSP TAP), 78% (DOL)
- DSP better equipped to provide high-quality supports: 98%-100% across all pilots1
Through these pilots, Georgia continues to build stronger career pathways and professional recognition for DSPs — essential steps toward a more stable, skilled, and valued workforce.
ON CUE
Resource:
This memo from the LEAD Center presents strategies for making the occupation more attractive to job seekers.
Resource:
This website from the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) discusses the importance of DSPs, ideas to further professionalize the field, and promising practices from various states.
Resource:
This website from the National Alliance on Direct Support Professionals outlines ways to improve DSP standards, promote reform, and build knowledge and skills for DSPs. Through its programs and services, NADSP offers professional development and ensures DSPs receive the recognition they deserve.
Webinars
Advancing Direct Support Professional Careers: Start Here, Go Anywhere!
(December 2025)
This webinar introduced the LEAD Center’s new career exploration infographic (see “On Topic,” above) to help encourage the recruitment and retention of DSPs. The webinar recording and infographic may both be found at LEADcenter.org.
Building Career Pathways for Direct Support Professionals: Stories and Strategies from the Field
Date: Spring 2026
This upcoming webinar will explore how states are building meaningful career pathways to address the shortage of DSPs. Panelists from the LEAD Center and Direct Care Workforce Strategies Center will discuss how technical assistance and peer learning help states exchange strategies and proven practices. Panelists from North Carolina and Connecticut will discuss the innovative strategies they are using to attract new DSPs and retain incumbent DSPs by building meaningful career pathways.
ON THE HORIZON
Stay informed about upcoming webinars and events by visiting the LEAD Center’s events webpage.