[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 151 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 151

 Expressing the sense of Congress that the Federal Government and the 
  States should make it a priority to ensure a stable, quality direct 
 support workforce that provides services and supports for individuals 
     with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 9, 2002

Mr. Hutchinson submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
  referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of Congress that the Federal Government and the 
  States should make it a priority to ensure a stable, quality direct 
 support workforce that provides services and supports for individuals 
     with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities.

Whereas there are more than 8,000,000 Americans who have mental retardation or 
        other developmental disabilities;
Whereas individuals with developmental disabilities include those with mental 
        retardation, autism, cerebral palsy, Down's syndrome, epilepsy, and 
        other related conditions;
Whereas individuals with mental retardation or other developmental disabilities 
        have a continuous need for individually planned and coordinated services 
        due to substantial limitations on their functional capacities, including 
        limitations in at least 2 of the areas of self-care, receptive and 
        expressive language, learning, mobility, self-direction, independent 
        living, and economic self-sufficiency;
Whereas for the past 2 decades individuals with mental retardation or other 
        developmental disabilities and their families have increasingly 
        expressed a desire to live and work in their communities and to join the 
        mainstream of American life;
Whereas the Supreme Court, in Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999), affirmed 
        the right of individuals with mental retardation or other developmental 
        disabilities to receive community-based services as an alternative to 
        institutional care;
Whereas the demand for community supports and services is rapidly growing, as 
        States comply with Olmstead and continue to move more individuals from 
        institutions into the community;
Whereas the demand for community supports and services will also continue to 
        grow as family caregivers age, waiting lists grow, individuals with 
        mental retardation or other developmental disabilities live longer, and 
        services for such individuals expand;
Whereas our Nation's long-term care delivery system is dependent upon a 
        disparate array of public and private funding sources, and is not a 
        conventional industry, but rather is financed primarily through third-
        party insurers;
Whereas Medicaid financing of supports and services to individuals with mental 
        retardation or other developmental disabilities varies considerably from 
        State to State, causing significant disparities across geographic 
        regions, among differing groups of consumers, and between community and 
        institutional supports;
Whereas aside from families, private providers that employ direct support 
        professionals deliver the majority of supports and services for 
        individuals with mental retardation or other developmental disabilities 
        in the community;
Whereas direct support professionals provide a wide range of supportive services 
        to individuals with mental retardation or other developmental 
        disabilities on a day-to-day basis, including habilitation, health care, 
        personal care and hygiene, employment, transportation, recreation, 
        housekeeping, and other home management-related supports and services 
        that enable these individuals to live and work in their communities;
Whereas direct support professionals generally assist individuals with mental 
        retardation or other developmental disabilities to lead a self-directed 
        family, community, and social life;
Whereas private providers and the individuals for whom they provide supports and 
        services are in jeopardy as a result of the growing crisis in recruiting 
        and retaining a direct support workforce;
Whereas providers of supports and services to individuals with mental 
        retardation or other developmental disabilities typically draw from a 
        labor market that competes with other entry-level jobs that provide less 
        physically and emotionally demanding work as well as higher pay and 
        other benefits, and therefore these direct support jobs are not 
        currently competitive in today's labor market;
Whereas annual turnover rates of direct support workers range from 40 to 75 
        percent;
Whereas high rates of employee vacancies and turnover threaten the ability of 
        providers to achieve their core mission, which is the provision of safe 
        and high-quality supports to individuals with mental retardation or 
        other developmental disabilities;
Whereas direct support staff turnover is emotionally difficult for the 
        individuals being served;
Whereas many parents are becoming increasingly afraid that there will be no one 
        available to take care of their sons and daughters with mental 
        retardation or other developmental disabilities who are living in the 
        community; and
Whereas this workforce shortage is the most significant barrier to implementing 
        the Olmstead decision, undermines the expansion of community integration 
        as called for by President George W. Bush's New Freedom Initiative, and 
        places the community support infrastructure at risk: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring),

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This resolution may be cited as the ``Direct Support Professional 
Recognition Resolution''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING SERVICES OF DIRECT SUPPORT 
              PROFESSIONALS TO INDIVIDUALS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL 
              DISABILITIES.

    It is the sense of Congress that the Federal Government and the 
States should work to advance our Nation's commitment to community 
integration for individuals with mental retardation or other 
developmental disabilities and to advance personal security for such 
individuals and their families by making it a priority to ensure a 
stable, quality direct support workforce that provides services and 
supports for such individuals.
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