Group home workers should be paid fair wage

If you are a parent of an adult with is a developmentally disabled adult in Illinois, you are too familiar with what Direct Support Professional workers do for all adults in developmentally disabled group homes and adult day programs all over the state.

They take care of all the personal needs of adults when they are unable to do so for themselves.

Many times, they do this in group homes 24/7 all year round and in adult day programs for nonprofit organizations statewide.

Parents and all nonprofits in the state are also too familiar with a DSP wage crisis and staffing shortage, which has only have gotten worse since the start of the COVID epidemic and has been going on for years.

DSP workers are vital for the operation of all group homes and adult day programs and there is no getting around the issue for all legislators, regardless of party.

The workers need to be paid a fair wage.

There also needs to be creative solutions put forward by these same legislators and put into action now.

State legislators during a crisis should be putting into action creative ideas and not just throwing money at the problem.

This crisis is not and will not go away and needs action now, not in Springfield time.

Mike Baker

Schaumburg