Congress Backs Direct Support Workforce Resolution
On November 6 the U.S. House of Representatives passed The Direct Support Professional Resolution

by a recorded vote of 382 to 0. With this resolution the House joined the Senate, which passed the

resolution by unanimous consent on October 22, in opening the door for further action to secure a strong,

stable, quality workforce of support services for all Americans with disabilities. Connecticut representative,

Johnson, Larson, and Simmons were present and voted in support of the resolution.
At issue is the ability of providers of community supports and services to hire and retain a quality workforce.

Both the dollar amount and percentage increase in hourly wages for private direct support worker are far

below that of comparable job categories.  HARC is working on the federal level with American Network of

Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) to raise federal and public awareness about the workforce

crisis threatening community-based supports and services. For information on the campaign go to www.supportnac.org.