An organization leading the effort to have 100 percent equity, inclusion and access for people with disabilities is praising Missouri’s governor and state lawmakers in both parties for boosting the wage reimbursement for direct support professionals.
Easterseals Midwest executive vice president Tec Chapman tells 939 the Eagle that the funding will also help compete with other employers to compete and retain employees. Easterseals has been helping individuals with disabilities and their families live better lives for more than a century:
“So we’re just really thankful for their recognition of the vital role that direct support professionals play in the lives of people with disabilities and families. So that the individuals with disabilities continue to live in their own home, live at home with mom and dad, stay out of hospitals. Stay out of long-term care facilities and institutions,” Chapman says.
Mr. Chapman notes that historically, Missouri has ranked among the lowest in the nation for DSP wages. He credits Governor Parson and lawmakers in both parties for increasing them to $15 per hour over the last three years. The new budget signed by Governor Parson, which took effect on July 1, moves it to $17 an hour:
“You and I can probably drive up and down any street here in central Missouri and see help wanted signs and you see the starting wage. And for somebody who can work at McDonald’s or something like that for $15 an hour versus very intense support for somebody with a disability living in their own home, it takes a lot more effort,” says Chapman.
He says the funding also means that providers can now offer a more competitive wage that will help stabilize the workforce. He says the state budget impacts more than 1,500 DSP’s who work with Easterseals Midwest across Missouri:
“The (Missouri) Legislature but also candidly Governor (Mike) Parson’s leadership has been really important and critical to raising the reimbursement rates in conjunction with Mercer to help people to have a livable wage and not have to have multiple jobs in order to put food on their table and maintain housing,” Chapman says.
He also says every dollar that Missouri invests in DSP pay translates into nearly $4 in economic activity in local communities. Mr. Chapman is also the former executive director at Services for Independent Living in Columbia.