[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 195 (Tuesday, November 17, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7040-S7041]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 776--DESIGNATING THE WEEK BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 13, 
  2020, AS ``NATIONAL DIRECT SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS RECOGNITION WEEK''

  Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Ms. Collins, Mr. King, Mr. Brown, Mr. 
Markey, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Warren, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. 
Blumenthal, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Jones, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Casey, Ms. 
Baldwin, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Kaine, and Ms. Smith) submitted 
the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 776

       Whereas direct support professionals, including direct care 
     workers, personal assistants, personal attendants, in-home 
     support workers, and paraprofessionals, are key to providing 
     publicly funded, long-term support and services for millions 
     of individuals with disabilities;
       Whereas, during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (referred to 
     in this preamble as ``COVID-19'') pandemic, many direct 
     support professionals continue to arrive for work every day 
     in order to ensure the health and safety of individuals with 
     disabilities;
       Whereas direct support professionals provide essential 
     services that ensure all individuals with disabilities are--
       (1) included as a valued part of the communities in which 
     those individuals live;
       (2) supported at home, at work, and in the communities of 
     the United States; and
       (3) empowered to live with the dignity that all people of 
     the United States deserve;
       Whereas, by fostering connections between individuals with 
     disabilities and their families, friends, and communities, 
     direct support professionals ensure that individuals with 
     disabilities thrive, thereby avoiding more costly 
     institutional care;
       Whereas direct support professionals build close, 
     respectful, and trusting relationships with individuals with 
     disabilities and provide a broad range of personalized 
     support to those individuals, including--
       (1) helping individuals make person-centered choices;
       (2) assisting with personal care, meal preparation, 
     medication management, and other aspects of daily living;
       (3) assisting individuals in accessing the community and 
     securing competitive, integrated employment;
       (4) providing transportation to school, work, religious, 
     and recreational activities;
       (5) helping with general daily affairs, such as assisting 
     with financial matters, medical appointments, and personal 
     interests;
       (6) assisting individuals in the transition from isolated 
     or congregate settings or services to living in the 
     communities of their choice; and
       (7) helping to keep individuals with disabilities safe and 
     healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic, including by 
     volunteering to quarantine with individuals whom they care 
     for to reduce spread of the disease;
       Whereas there is a documented critical and increasing 
     shortage of direct support professionals throughout the 
     United States;
       Whereas the majority of direct support professionals are 
     employed in home and community-based settings, and that trend 
     is expected to increase over the next decade;
       Whereas many direct support professionals--
       (1) are the primary financial providers for their families;
       (2) are hardworking, taxpaying citizens who provide a 
     critical service in the United States; and
       (3) continue to earn low wages, receive inadequate 
     benefits, and have limited opportunities for advancement, 
     resulting in high turnover and vacancy rates that adversely 
     affect the quality of support, safety, and health of 
     individuals with disabilities; and
       Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States, in Olmstead 
     v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999)--
       (1) recognized the importance of the deinstitutionalization 
     of, and community-based services for, individuals with 
     disabilities; and
       (2) held that, under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 
     1990 (42 U.S. 12101 et seq.), a State must provide community-
     based services to individuals with intellectual and 
     developmental disabilities if--
          (A) the community-based services are appropriate;
          (B) the affected individual does not oppose receiving 
     the community-based services; and
          (C) the community-based services can be reasonably 
     accommodated after the community has taken into account the 
     resources available to the State and the needs of other 
     individuals with disabilities in the State: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates the week beginning September 13, 2020, as 
     ``National Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week'';
       (2) recognizes the dedication and vital role of direct 
     support professionals in enhancing the lives of individuals 
     with disabilities of all ages;
       (3) appreciates the contribution of direct support 
     professionals in supporting individuals with disabilities and 
     their families in the United States;

[[Page S7041]]

       (4) commends direct support professionals for being 
     integral to the provision of long-term support and services 
     for individuals with disabilities;
       (5) encourages the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the 
     Department of Labor to collect data specific to direct 
     support professionals; and
       (6) finds that the successful implementation of public 
     policies affecting individuals with disabilities in the 
     United States can depend on the dedication of direct support 
     professionals.

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