ST PAUL — Over 1,000 advocates piled into the Minnesota Capitol Rotunda in St. Paul on Tuesday, March 10, urging lawmakers to improve wages and conditions to caregivers of Minnesotans with disabilities.
According to the Association of Residential Resources in Minnesota, direct support professionals, or DSPs for short, on average earn $13.15 an hour — 17% less than workers in professions of similar caliber. Half of DSPs leave the field within their first year on the job, and the profession has among the highest vacancy rates in the state. The Minnesota Legislature in 2019 passed a wage increase for DSPs of 4.7% on average, but ARRM CEO Sue Schettle said it's still not enough.
She said DSPs provide critical care to those with disabilities — dispensing medication, assisting with personal hygiene tasks, offering reliable transportation and more — but their profession "is one that doesn't get the limelight."
"In some cases it’s life or death," Schettle said. "And yet, they’re making 13 bucks an hour."
Tuesday's rally was meant to highlight the care that DSPs offer, and ask the Legislature for additional reform. ARRM is pushing four bills this year to increase DSP wages and improve industry conditions.
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At Tuesday's rally, Gov. Tim Walz said he wants to "make sure that everybody gets a chance to choose the life they want, everybody gets accessibility to jobs and services and do the types of things they personally choose," regardless of disability status.
Caregivers are the ones who make that happen, and he said they need support, too.
