Recognizing the Role of Direct Support Professionals Act

118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 1332 AN ACT To require the Office of Management and Budget to consider revising the Standard Occupational Classification system to establish a separate code for direct support profes- sionals, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 2 † S 1332 ES SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Recognizing the Role 2 of Direct Support Professionals Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds the following: 5 (1) Direct support professionals play a critical 6 role in the care provided to individuals with intellec- 7 tual and developmental disabilities by providing a 8 wide range of supportive services on a day-to-day 9 basis to promote independence, including— 10 (A) enhancing independence and commu- 11 nity inclusion of these individuals, including 12 through travel and recreation, visiting friends 13 and family, shopping, or socializing; 14 (B) coaching and supporting individuals in 15 communicating needs, achieving self-expression, 16 pursuing personal goals, living independently, 17 and participating actively in employment or vol- 18 untary roles in the community; 19 (C) providing assistance with activities of 20 independent daily living (such as feeding, bath- 21 ing, toileting, and ambulation) and with tasks 22 such as meal preparation, shopping, light 23 housekeeping, laundry, and home management; 24 or 25 3 † S 1332 ES (D) supporting individuals at home, work, 1 school, or any other community setting. 2 (2) Through the support of direct support pro- 3 fessionals, individuals are able to lead self-directed 4 lives within their own communities. 5 (3) Providers of home- and community-based 6 services are experiencing difficulty hiring and retain- 7 ing direct support professionals, with a national 8 turnover rate of 43 percent, as identified in a 2021 9 study by the National Core Indicators, and full-time 10 vacancy rates increasing by 94 percent between 11 2019 and 2021. 12 (4) High turnover rates can lead to instability 13 for individuals receiving services, and this may result 14 in individuals not receiving enough personalized care 15 to help them reach their goals for independent liv- 16 ing. 17 (5) A discrete occupational category for direct 18 support professionals will help States and the Fed- 19 eral Government— 20 (A) better interpret the shortage in the 21 labor market of direct support professionals; 22 and 23 (B) collect data on the high turnover rate 24 of direct support professionals. 25 4 † S 1332 ES (6) The Standard Occupational Classification 1 system is designed and maintained solely for statis- 2 tical purposes, and is used by Federal statistical 3 agencies to classify workers and jobs into occupa- 4 tional categories for the purpose of collecting, calcu- 5 lating, analyzing, or disseminating data. 6 (7) Occupations in the Standard Occupational 7 Classification system are classified based on work 8 performed and, in some cases, on the skills, edu- 9 cation, or training needed to perform the work. 10 (8) Establishing a discrete occupational cat- 11 egory for direct support professionals will— 12 (A) correct an inaccurate representation in 13 the Standard Occupational Classification sys- 14 tem; 15 (B) recognize these professionals for the 16 critical and often overlooked work that they 17 perform for the disabled community, which 18 work is different than the work of a home 19 health aide or a personal care aide; and 20 (C) better align the Standard Occupational 21 Classification system with related classification 22 systems. 23 5 † S 1332 ES SEC. 3. REVISION OF STANDARD OCCUPATIONAL CLASSI- 1 FICATION SYSTEM. 2 The Director of the Office of Management and Budg- 3 et shall, as part of the first revision of the Standard Occu- 4 pational Classification system occurring after the date of 5 enactment of this Act, consider revising the Standard Oc- 6 cupational Classification system to establish a separate 7 code for direct support professionals as a healthcare sup- 8 port occupation. 9 SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 10 If, after carrying out section 3, the Director of the 11 Office of Management and Budget decides not to establish 12 a separate code for direct support professionals in the 13 Standard Occupational Classification system, the Director 14 shall, by not later than 30 days after the first revision 15 of the Standard Occupational Classification system occur- 16 ring after the date of enactment of this Act, submit a re- 17 port to the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern- 18 mental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Edu- 19 cation and the Workforce of the House of Representatives 20 explaining the Office of Management and Budget’s deci- 21 sion. 22 6 † S 1332 ES SEC. 5. NO NEW FUNDS. 1 No additional funds are authorized to be appro- 2 priated to carry out this Act. 3 Passed the Senate March 20, 2024. Attest: Secretary. 118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 1332 AN ACT To require the Office of Management and Budget to consider revising the Standard Occupational Classification system to establish a separate code for direct support professionals, and for other purposes.