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Direct Support Professionals (DSP)
Helping people with intellectual or developmental disabilities become independent and integrated into their community.
Quick Facts
This occupation is expected to grow rapidly and is projected to have large numbers of job openings.
High School Diploma
Typical Required Education
On-the-job Training
Employers usually provide training
$14.86 hourly
$30,920 annual
Average salary rates in NYS.
This career is right for you, if..
You want a fulfilling and rewarding career
You enjoy teaching and coaching people to be the best they can be
You love building relationships with people
You thrive in challenging situations that require problem solving
You want to gain real world experience working in the healthcare field
Overview
A Direct Support Professional, or Direct Support Care Professional, cares for individuals experiencing developmental or intellectual disabilities or illnesses.
Their main duties include helping patients complete basic housekeeping tasks, transporting patients to appointments or other social outings and keeping patients safe from potential health hazards in their surrounding environment.
Direct Support Professionals work with individuals with mental or developmental disabilities by creating behavior plans, teaching self-care skills, cooking meals and doing laundry.
Key Responsibilities
- Creating behavior plans, teaching self-care skills, cooking meals, and doing laundry
- Assisting clients with daily personal tasks, including bathing and dressing
- Completing housekeeping tasks such as vacuuming, washing dishes and tidying
- Helping plan client appointments and organize a schedule
- Organizing with transportation arrangements to appointments
- Shopping for groceries and preparing meals that meet specific client dietary needs
- Encouraging client engagement in social networks and communities
Career Information
Skills
- Actively looking for ways to help people
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying
- Talking to others to convey information effectively
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Abilities
- The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
- The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules
- The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Meet DSPs
The following videos provide insight into DSP career across NYS.
Want your DSP video posted here, learn more >
Education & Training
While not all employers require it, a Direct Support Professional usually needs a high school diploma or equivalent.
A Direct Support Professional may be trained in housekeeping tasks or learn basic safety techniques, including how to respond to emergencies. If state certification is required, specific training may be needed.
Training on basic nutrition, infection control, reading and recording vital signs and personal hygiene can be completed on-the-job or via specialized programs. In addition, clients may have individualized preferences that require Direct Support Professionals to take time to become comfortable before working with them.
DSP Training Opportunities
Most employers offer on the job training, however training direct care and professional development certifications can help you be more prepared to join the workforce as a DSP.
Understanding Long COVID
Virtual, Video
LGBTQ+ Diversity and Inclusion for Organizations
In-person, Virtual
Transform Your Stress
Virtual, Video
Office for People With Developmental Disabilities
Web/mobile application
Career Pathways
The following careers are great advancement options for people with DSP experience.
Careers you can do with only DSP experience
House Manager
$55,000 per year,
$26.44 per hour
Home Health Aide (HHA)
$33,150 per year, $15.94 per hour
High Need
Care Coordinator
$41,080 per year, $19.75 per hour
High Need
Careers that require a two-year degree
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
$47,050 per year, $22.62 per hour (BLS)*
HIGH NEED
Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA)
$57,750 per year, $27.77 per hour (BLS)*
Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA)
$60,410 per year, $29.04 per hour (BLS)*
Careers that require more than two-years of education
Local DSP Employers
Find DSP employers near your and connect with them to learn about their DSP openings.
If you’re an employer of DSPs, make sure you organization is listed by creating an account View more >
Helpful Resources
The following resources are for DSPs and people interested in becoming a DSP.
Understanding Long COVID
Virtual, Video
From Risk to Opportunity: Mitigating Burnout from Vicarious Trauma
- 10/06/2022 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm
- 3352
Burnout, Retaining workers
Aspects of SOGI: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Primer
In-person, Virtual
Stay Informed & Get Employed
Stay informed with DSP career information and let employers send you employment opportunities.