Fall 2023 Issue

The state of Georgia's 2023 November elections has significant importance as they will determine the direction and leadership of communities across the state. While they are not as high-profile as statewide or national elections, these municipal races have a profound impact on the lives of Georgians with disabilities and their families. There are roughly 650,000 people with disabilities of voting age in Georgia and it is critical that their voices are heard at the voting polls.

This year’s elections will decide a wide range of positions including mayors, city council members, school board officials, county commissioners and other key leadership roles. These offices are integral in shaping local policies, managing budgets and addressing the unique needs of individual communities and how they support accessibility, inclusion and opportunity for residents with disabilities. Voters' choices in these races directly influence the quality of life in their communities.

The deadline to register in this year’s election was October 10, 2023, and we hope you took that time to register if you recently moved to Georgia, recently turned 18 years old, or otherwise needed to make changes to your voter profile. 

The next election in Georgia is November 7, 2023. The following dates detail important information and deadlines to ensure that you are best prepared to go to the polls and vote. 

• October 16 – The earliest day for a registrar to mail an absentee ballot for the November Municipal General Election.
• October 16 – Advanced (Absentee In-Person) Voting begins for the November General Election.
• October 21 and October 28 - Mandatory Saturday Voting for the November General Election.
• October 27 – The last day to request an absentee ballot for the November Municipal General Election.
• November 7 – ELECTION DAY (Municipal General/Special Election). 
• November 13 – The last day for a voter to submit an absentee ballot cure affidavit.
• December 5 – ELECTION DAY (Special Election Runoff).

To view a sample ballot, find your polling place or to verify that you are properly registered to vote, visit the Georgia Secretary of State’s My Voter Page at https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/.

Contact the Georgia Advocacy Office Voter Protection Hotline at 404-885-1234 or 1-800-537-2329 for any challenges you may have when casting your vote.

REV UP (Register, Educate, Vote, Use your Power) is a national nonpartisan voting initiative focused on advancing the power of the disability vote. Learn more about their work in Georgia by visiting the REV UP website at https://www.aapd.com/about-rev-up/.

See you at the polls!

The 2003 EAGLE Academy students and peer mentors at Georgia Southern University “I always told my parents I want an actual normal college life,” said Hannah White, a first-year student at the EAGLE Academy of Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia. “I want to get the actual experience of interacting with other people and making friends and stuff like that,” she added. 

Thanks to the EAGLE Academy, White is getting just that — a normal college life. 

The EAGLE Academy is a two-year program within Georgia Southern University that provides individuals with intellectual disabilities a chance to gain independence, skills, knowledge and confidence alongside students who do not have intellectual disabilities. The program currently focuses on years three and four of the college experience, meaning the students have either attended other post-secondary programs for one to two years, worked previously, or have been out of high school for a couple of years. 

The ‘EAGLE’ in EAGLE Academy stands for Equal Access to Gainful Learning and Employment. It is one of the nine Inclusive Post Secondary Education (IPSE) programs in Georgia. Eagle Academy is rooted in the principles of independent living, meaning that everyone, including people with intellectual disabilities, has the right to make decisions about their own lives. This includes pursuing and participating in post-secondary education.

Dr. Stephanie Devine, EAGLE Academy’s executive director and an associate professor of special education at Georgia Southern University, explained, “The mission of our program is to provide an inclusive opportunity for individuals with intellectual disabilities who would not have been able to have a college experience via a typical route.”

Just like other college students, the EAGLE Academy students are active in all aspects of student and academic life. They live on campus, take college courses, eat at the cafeteria, work at jobs or internships, and have the option to join clubs and sports teams. 

And, from the very first day, a team of dedicated staff is there to help ensure their success. 

Devine said, “We're looking at different ways to help improve whatever it is they're looking to improve while they're here on campus, and make sure that they're successful in these settings — so looking at different academic supports, assistive technology, ways to just improve their basic reading, writing and math skills.”

During their time at the EAGLE Academy, students take both EAGLE Academy-specific courses and courses from the university’s existing course catalog. The IPSE classes are fully inclusive and allow students with and without intellectual disabilities to learn and grow together.

Even though not all IPSE programs can convert students' certificates to non-audit credit hours, after completing the program, EAGLE Academy students receive a certificate of accomplishment and earn college credit that they can apply towards an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.

Living-Learning Community Builds Skills and Confidence

One of EAGLE Academy’s most important features is integrated housing. Just like all Georgia Southern University freshmen, EAGLE Academy students are required to live on campus. The EAGLE Academy students are housed in a living-learning community with Georgia Southern’s special education majors, which encourages peer support and interaction.

Known as the Eagle Educators Living-Learning Community, the unique setup creates a cohort of students who benefit from living near each other. Georgia Southern’s special education majors are positioned to live with students with intellectual disabilities, giving them real-life experience. And the EAGLE Academy students have supportive neighbors to answer questions, provide guidance, increase social skills and build independent living skills.

“We see our students in their first semester and then we see them towards the end of the semester,” said Nicholas Roshkind, EAGLE Academy Program Director. “The growth of living independently, we see it in the students. They're coming to us telling us, ‘I was able to go to the [gym] on my own, or I was able to go here with my roommates.’ We see those independent living skills of learning how to live with someone. All of our students are doing the same thing that any other undergraduate student's experiencing — living away from home, learning how to use the laundry facilities, roommate issues, they're all dealing with that.”

Aaron Patman, a first-year EAGLE Academy student, gained confidence in his social skills and his ability to navigate his surroundings.

“It’s been good living by myself and making new friends and then learning about this city and stuff,” he said. “A disability is really hard for some people, including myself. I have a disability of reading and knowing my surroundings and stuff, but I'm learning how to do that all by myself.”

Peer Mentor Program Aids Academic and Social Interactions

Within the supportive environment of Georgia Southern University, students without intellectual disabilities can volunteer to be peer mentors for the EAGLE Academy students. Peer mentors sometimes go to class with EAGLE Academy students to support their learning, understanding and assignments. 

Thanks to peer support and growing confidence, White felt confident to participate in class for the first time since starting at the EAGLE Academy. 

She explained, “So for the first time today, [I was] actually participating in class, which I normally didn't do because it was a little overwhelming at first, but [the professor] is really sweet. I feel like everybody in the room makes it a lot calmer because you see everybody is nice and are willing to be included with you, talk and have conversation.”

Peer mentors also help with social and practical experiences like taking students to lunch or to Walmart. 

Emma Marshall is a second-year peer mentor who is hard-of-hearing. She felt drawn to the program as a way to use her experience to support EAGLE Academy students. 

“My role is to help these students and guide them, not only educationally, but also in a social aspect,” she said. “It's about us growing off of each other and figuring out what each other likes, and getting to spend time with them, and do things with them that's not just school. Because school is important and it teaches you a lot, but these social interactions are also very, very important.”

Peer mentors and EAGLE Academy students also spend time simply enjoying each other’s company. 

Kendall Faulk, a first-year peer mentor and a junior at Georgia Southern, shared her expectations. 

“I was just expecting to help them with their class and stuff, but I've been surprised that it just feels like I'm hanging out with my friends while I'm doing it,” said Faulk. “That's my favorite part of my day is doing this. After, I have to go to class and I'm like, ‘Ugh, I wish I could just stay here all day and hang out!’”

Career Exploration and Individualized Plans Help Students Succeed

In their first semester, EAGLE Academy and Georgia Southern University students take a course together focused on career exploration. With help from Georgia Southern special education majors, EAGLE Academy students create resumes and cover letters, and practice interviews. They also take aptitude tests that help guide their career choices. 

“My career class is helping me,” explained Patman. “What I should do after college — I might become a teacher or an artist because I've been doing a good little drawings of cartoons and stuff. I keep on having these good ideas that come into my head, and I like to draw that.”

After the first semester, EAGLE Academy students focus their coursework to match their chosen career path. The EAGLE Academy students and staff work together to develop a customized course plan so that students can achieve their goals.

“The really cool part about our program is, because it is individualized, all of our students are not going through the same classes their second semester and their second year,” explained Roshkind. “And so that's really the fun part — finding out who's wanting to do what.”

Malcolm, a graduate of the EAGLE Academy, wanted to become a football coach. Roshkind met Malcolm when Malcom was enrolled in both a psychology course and a sociology course to better understand how people think and act. Understanding his passion, Roshkind helped Malcolm target his goal more specifically. 

Looking through the college course catalog, Roshkind found Georgia Southern courses on the fundamentals of coaching in football and in basketball. Malcolm loved the courses and gained new skills. And, when it came time to find a work opportunity, Roshkind helped Malcolm get a job at their campus gym. He started off cleaning the equipment and worked his way up to officiating many of the university’s club sports. Because he earned college credit through EAGLE Academy and Georgia Southern, Malcolm is qualified to become an assistant coach. After Malcolm graduated in spring of 2023, he moved home and is hoping to get an assistant coach position at his former high school. 

Skills, Credits & Credentials Create a Launchpad for Accomplishing Dreams

It is clear that the EAGLE Academy’s community living, peer mentorship, career exploration and individualized coursework create a unique and inclusive program that brings students and teachers together to learn, grow and support one another. 

As EAGLE Academy students earn their certificates and college credits, the program becomes a launchpad for accomplishing dreams. The story of Malcolm, now pursuing his dream of becoming a football coach, showcases the program’s tangible impact. The ripple effect extends beyond graduation as these individuals carry the skills and confidence gained at EAGLE Academy into the broader community.

In a world where inclusion is not just a buzzword, but a necessity, the EAGLE Academy stands as a testament to the transformative power of education when it is truly accessible to all. It’s a story of breaking barriers, nurturing potential, and building a future where every individual, regardless of ability, can spread their wings and soar.

Charlie Miller, GCDD Legislative Advocacy DirectorHello Advocates! How in the world are you doing? My name is Charlie Miller and I am the Legislative Advocacy Director for the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD). We are excited to bring you this edition of Public Policy for the People.

Fall is in the air, the leaves are changing, holidays are right around the corner and my favorite time of the year is almost here. That's right, the legislative session! From the second week of January to mid-March or later in the spring, Georgia State legislators come together at the state capitol, or what we like to call “the Gold Dome,” to work on the state budget for the upcoming year and pass laws that affect Georgians like you and me. 

Preparing for the Next Legislative Session

The upcoming regular legislative state session is the second year of the biennial, which means any legislation that did not pass last year still has an opportunity to pass during next year’s session. Bills we are watching include Senate Bill 4, which is the ‘Blind Persons’ Braille Literacy Rights and Education Act. This bill will require an evaluation of a blind or visually impaired student in public schools to determine the student's need for braille instruction. This will significantly increase the opportunities of a student who would need braille to be successful in the classroom. 

We are also eagerly watching House Bill 122. This bill will move Georgia’s ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) account, also known as STABLE, out of the oversight of the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Trust Fund and into the board of Georgia’s Higher Education and Savings Plan. This will allow a change in the current maximum amount of contributions ($235,000) allowed per beneficiary to be increased to what the new board decides. 

Before the legislative session begins this January, keep in mind that there is a chance that there may be a special session which can happen at any moment. A special session is a time when the governor calls for all state senators and representatives to come back to the capital to tackle a specific issue. This will most likely impact some of our state Senate districts and our federal House districts. We will make sure to keep everyone up to date if there are changes in a district's representatives.

Advocacy Before the Upcoming Session

Advocating during the legislative session is always needed to help push the disability issues you care about, and advocating before the session is just as important. During this off season, GCDD has been working hard to advocate at Legislative Study Committee meetings, and having meetings with individual legislators to make sure disability issues are a top priority for lawmakers. 

One big issue we have been advocating about is the Direct Support Professional (DSP) workforce crisis. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia’s DSP workforce was already declining because of low pay wages. Once the pandemic began, DSPs in Georgia and across the country were further negatively impacted which affected their livelihoods. 

The federal government was able to pass the American Rescue Plan Act which allowed the state to qualify for a program called Appendix K. This allowed more flexibility on how Georgia used its New Option Waiver Program (NOW) and Comprehensive Support Waiver Program (COMP). This also increased Georgia’s DSP rate to a more meaningful wage. 

The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) had been working on a new rate study for DSPs to help increase their wages to a livable income but that was held up when Governor Kemp gave instructions to the General Assembly to disregard the rate study to allow more time to understand how the state of Georgia would pay for this. 

Since then, GCDD has been working hard talking with advocates, community partners and legislators about the significant impact this has on the disability community. Our advocacy is paying off and we continue to build our relationship with the Governor’s Office, helping them understand the need for the new rate that the study came out with. We must continue to advocate during the off-season and especially during the upcoming legislative session. 

How You Can Advocate

Before the legislative session begins in January, it is critical to understand who represents you and who you should be advocating to. As I am writing this article, none of your legislators have changed since last year. If you do not know who your representative is, visit Plural Policy, formerly known as Open States. When you go to the website, use the “Find Your Legislator” tool and enter your address. Once you find your legislators, feel free to reach out to them in person or by phone, email or letter to introduce yourself to them as one of their constituents. If you are able to meet them in person, that is great! Additionally, when you speak with your representative on the phone or in an email, you have the chance to educate them more and more on issues that matter to you. 

Reaching out to your representative about disability issues will also help them understand that these issues regularly affect you and the thousands of people they serve. They might not be well informed on disability issues, and that’s OK. You can help teach them and tell them how this impacts our community. 

Understand that legislators work part-time, which means they also have other jobs that they do regularly. It also means they are more involved in the community when they are not at the capitol during the off season. 

GCDD is Here to Help You Advocate

Personal relationships make a big impact on legislators when you're talking about these issues. If you feel nervous or need some help connecting with your legislator, always feel free to reach out to GCDD. We are very happy to help you advocate. 

A great way to learn how to advocate is to join GCDD’s Advocacy Days. Each year during the legislative session, GCDD, community partners and self-advocates go to the state capitol to advocate and meet with state representatives about issues affecting the disability community. This past session, hundreds of people participated during our GCDD Advocacy Days. This is a great opportunity to come and meet and connect with other people in the disability community, while also meeting your state representative in person.

The disability community will be called on during the legislative session to help advocate for funding and other issues important to our community. Stay informed of activities, events and any upcoming news that GCDD offers by joining our Public Policy for the People Zoom call which is every Friday during the legislative session. Register here for the Public Policy for the People meetings. 

Happy Advocating!

D'Arcy Robb, Executive Director of GCDD I was one of those college students who had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. So, after graduation day, I worked a variety of different jobs. I was a childcare worker at a provider agency working with troubled youth. I worked on a political campaign, then did public relations for a community recreation center, then was a television producer. Meanwhile, in my down time I developed a mild obsession with purpose-driven career development. I can’t tell you how many times I took aptitude tests and re-read “What Color is Your Parachute?” 

Some years later, once I’d figured out my own parachute, I started learning about career development in the broad context of the disability community. I got to visit Project SEARCH sites and saw how the interns rotated between job sites during the year, giving them no fewer than three internships and assisted them in securing jobs by the end of the year. I learned about inclusive post-secondary education and saw that the students’ employment outcomes eclipsed those of their peers. I got to attend Discovery Camp hosted by Marc Gold & Associates and learned how to identify the contributions each individual person can make and then to connect those contributions with a career path. Most importantly, I got to meet people with disabilities building unique and fulfilling career paths. There was Lindsey, who single-handedly digitized and organized a warehouse full of blueprints for a manufacturer in South Georgia. And Chad, whose meticulousness and love of working with his hands was put to good use in an organic greenhouse. 

Sometimes people question the idea that there is a career for every working age person who wants one. I think the key to that is to broaden your thinking. For example, I’ll share the story about a young man with disabilities who lives in rural Maine and loves hiking. His business is hiking to the end of the Appalachian Trail with ice-cold towels that he then sells to hikers. 

And of course, entrepreneurship isn’t limited to people who love the outdoors. The first annual awards ceremony for Synergies Work this past spring featured entrepreneurs with disabilities who are doing everything from making artisanal soaps to running a video game company to starting a social justice organization. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that many jobs can be done with flexibility and creativity. That’s a powerful lesson that can be applied to building careers that fit, for everyone.

This summer, I was given the opportunity to speak before a Senate study committee about expanding Georgia’s workforce. That gave me the chance to present the often-overlooked reality that our community is an under-tapped talent pool. Actually, two talent pools: Georgians with disabilities, and their family members.

Most working age Georgians with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD) want jobs, but according to the National Core Indicators, only 13% have one. And 54% of those who do not have a paid job in the community want a job. Those statistics are very problematic to me. We know that having a disability, no matter how significant its impact, does not stop someone from building a career. And we have a pool of approximately 149,000 people with I/DD spread across our state who are eager to enter the workforce. And that number is much higher when you include working age Georgians who have other types of disabilities. What a golden moment to support Georgians with disabilities to step into career opportunities. 

Then, consider the family members. The day after I presented to the Senate committee, I was at an advocacy event where a mother spoke up about her fears that she would have to leave her job as a nurse in order to support her child. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard a version of that story: that someone left their job, turned down a promotion, or feared they would need to quit, in order to support their family member with a disability. It’s an incredibly hard situation for the individuals involved – and by siphoning people out of the workforce, it’s bad news for Georgia’s economy. 

So what do we do? We invest in Georgians with disabilities and their families. We get rid of the antiquated practice of paying people with disabilities subminimum wage. We adopt State as Model Employer, which directs state agencies to actively seek to include Georgians with disabilities in their workforce. And, we invest in waivers and wages by fully funding the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities' (DBHDD) rate study for the NOW and COMP waivers. That rate study will boost the wages of hard-working Direct Support Professionals (DSPs). Once those wages go up, DSP vacancy rates will go down and service quality will go up. Having a quality DSP workforce is critical to give Georgians with disabilities and their families the stability they need – and with that stability, more and more Georgians with disabilities and family members will be able to focus on their own careers. 

Georgia’s disability support system is very unstable., No wonder that careers for many people with I/DD and their family members get short shrift. It’s another lesson so many individuals and employers learned during the pandemic – when a family is in crisis, or narrowly avoiding one, people drop out of the workforce or never enter it at all. But right here, right now, we have a golden opportunity to build Georgia’s workforce and boost its economy by investing in Georgians with disabilities, their families, and the people that support them. I support this a million percent, and if you’re reading this, I suspect you are too. Be sure you’re connected with our GCDD advocacy network to help us make this vision a reality!

D’Arcy Robb
Executive Director, GCDD

Emily Myers, Region Director at Briggs & AssociatesThe Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) interviewed Emily Myers, region director at Briggs & Associates, a supported employment company that assists people with disabilities with finding employment. We spoke about the state of work for people with disabilities, unemployment among people with disabilities, and what Briggs & Associates does to help individuals find meaningful and accommodating jobs and careers.

Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities: Hello, Emily! Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. First, could you please give me a brief overview of your background, as well as your job title?

Emily Myers: Sure! I am a region director with Briggs & Associates. I’ve worked with Briggs for 20 years. We are a supportive employment company; the only service we provide is employment, and we are entirely community-based. We meet with people at their homes and in their places of choice, wherever they’re most comfortable, and especially at their jobs.

GCDD: And when was Briggs & Associates founded? Could you give us a brief history?

EM: The company was founded in 1989, so we’re going on about “35-plus years,” as we say, in supported employment. It was definitely one of the earliest agencies to do what we do in Georgia. Supported employment was happening in some other places, but for the most part, the people we served were receiving their services in an institutional or group setting in a facility prior to supported employment. Our owner, Jennifer Briggs, who founded the company, was aware of the community-based programs and value of getting people out within their communities, with their neighbors and local businesses. She was working in a facility at the time, and she negotiated terms that allowed her to have one person get community-based services. She helped that person find a job and that person became more self-sufficient, so she asked to serve two people, and then three people. Ms. Briggs slowly grew the company by taking people out of an institutional setting and helped people get connected in their communities and get real jobs. Over the 35 years we have been in business, we have served thousands and thousands of people, about 8000 total to date. We currently work with a little over 900 people.

GCDD: What are some of the employment services Briggs & Associates provides to people with disabilities?

EM: Everything we do is individualized. We start with the person. We spend time with them, getting to know their likes and dislikes, their job history, things that they might like to do in the future, or things that they never want to repeat again. We get to know clients in terms of who they are, even outside of a work setting, including how they interact with people, their attention to detail, anything. We learn about clients in ways that do not rely on preconceived notions, such as, “Wow, you are good with animals. You have to work with animals.” We start with the person first, and that leads us to the job. We help people create resumes and profiles, which we use to speak to employers on behalf of our clients. We are always trying to make connections with employers in new fields to broaden opportunities for the people we serve. We help people with their interviews and onboarding process, and finally, we help clients learn their job. We provide job coaching, and that involves helping the person fit into the employer’s expectations and how the employer teaches the job. If the person needs accommodation, we will assist with negotiating that on their behalf. Finally, we start to fade out once the person becomes self-sufficient in their job, with us checking in once a week to ensure both parties are satisfied.

GCDD: Could you walk us through some of the various challenges that Briggs & Associates seeks to address?

EM: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 6.5 million people in the United States have an intellectual disability. Without support, challenges exist for these individuals, including a very high unemployment rate and often being underemployed or working in low-wage jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the employment rate for people with a disability is 17.9%. The Briggs employment rate for individuals with disabilities, given support, is approximately 84%. For people without a disability, the employment rate is 61.8%. Clearly support makes a difference! We make a very strong case for the benefits of hiring our clients. The people who we serve tend to do jobs the way they were taught, to have better attendance rates, and tend to have lower turnover rates. We stay long-term with employers, so we are always involved in the person’s career, so the employer can rest assured knowing they have a team on their side.

GCDD: What would you recommend to employers who are looking to make their workplaces more inclusive for those with disabilities? What can they do to engage or hire more people with disabilities?

EM: To start, I do want to mention that there has been a rise in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, initiatives and departments in recent years. We have really embraced that opportunity, and we speak with employers and help them see that we are part of the solution to some of the goals they may have set in that area. We want disability to be a part of that conversation. Also, we want employers to understand that it is not a huge leap. If someone needs an accommodation, it can be something as simple as a chair or a different type of keyboard. It’s not something that should be a dealbreaker for hiring a person. We work with the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA) to get the tools and technology necessary to assist the people we serve. I think the most important thing is to know that we will do the heavy lifting. An employer doesn’t have to take on a whole lot more.

GCDD: On the other side of the hiring process, what should people with disabilities know about getting in touch with Briggs & Associates or seeking employment in general?

EM: One thing I would encourage is to get involved early. There’s a planning list for people in the State of Georgia who want services. Parents need to get involved with this list. Families should start asking schools early on about the options for transition or about post-graduate services that are available to their child. Usually, toward the middle of high school, schools will offer a community-based instruction program, so I would encourage families to get their children involved in those programs. They get everybody thinking about employment! As children reach the end of school, families will start to hear from the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD), and if they don’t, they need to contact them to verify their status. Ideally, that student will be able to transition right into a service provider, like Briggs & Associates, after they finish school. It’s essential that the student doesn’t miss time between school and work, because they lose skills they built in school. We partner with school systems in hopes of catching students before they lose those skills. People are also always welcome to call us at 770-993-4559 or email us at . We can help them navigate some of those channels. It can be overwhelming for families, but our office is always happy to help.

To learn more about Briggs and Associates, visit https://www.briggsassociates.org/wordpress/ or email us at .

Self-advocates across Georgia work and contribute to their communities as individual citizens and as members of the growing self-advocacy network, Uniting for Change. When we focus on how everyone has something to contribute, we find ways for people to find and share their gifts and talents. 

Everyone has something to offer and can contribute when given the opportunity and/or provided with the supports needed. The many ways we contribute to our jobs, our neighborhoods, with our friends and families, and around our communities must be recognized and celebrated. 

In this article you will hear from four self-advocates who make a difference in their communities in many ways.

Sheila JefferyMy name is Sheila Jeffery. I work at Burger King in Union City, Georgia. I work as a cashier, I take food orders, and I bag orders for the customers. I also clean the lobbies and the bathrooms. I love my job and it’s going well. I have a daughter who is almost 11 years old, and she keeps me busy. I am a founding member in the Leadership Collective of Uniting for Change and believe that learning about self-advocacy has helped me speak up better for myself and have more confidence. I understand my rights and responsibilities as a person with a disability and will continue to make sure my voice is heard. 

Thomas FewellMy name is Thomas Fewell and I live in Clarkesville, Georgia. I was walking home from my job at Ingles one day and I noticed water pouring out into a yard. I knew it was not right, so I went to the door to inform the homeowner of the leak. This was the start of a friendship with Buddy, as he told me I was an honest and helpful man. He hired me to cut his grass and I checked on him and his elderly wife whenever I could. After Buddy died, I went to pay my respects and found out he left me some of his hats and walking sticks. That is why I’m here, to help as many people as I can. I will miss my friend. I have learned that to be a self-advocate means to rise up and speak out. I am working to be a manager at Ingles. I have big dreams.

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My name is Quentin Jackson and I am a self-advocate in Tifton, GA. I contribute to my community in many ways as an employee, team member, community advocate and friend. Currently, I work in information technology, (IT), which means I help people with their electronics, emails, and other things related to technology. I am paid as an IT Consultant for Sangha Unity Network (SUN). I also help out with Uniting for Change Self-Advocacy Area Network meetings. I am the producer of Community Strong every Monday, which is a social hour about connecting, learning, and spending time with each other. We have a video, song, and a word of the week we pick out and discuss. We have a lot of fun. Other activities I am involved in include being the vice president of the Aktion Club in Tifton, where in a couple months I’ll be the president. I also attend City Council, Prevent Child Abuse meetings and Kiwanis Club meetings. Every Tuesday I play basketball and I also like to bowl and play volleyball. I play kickball with the Champions League.

Jacob HollingsworthMy name is Jacob Hollingsworth. I am 21 years old. I currently live in Lithia Springs, Georgia. I live with my family. My hobbies are drawing, watching movies, television, and YouTube videos. I even like listening to country music. My job is making my own YouTube videos. I hope I can keep making videos for quite some time. I feel that my current contributions to the Leadership Collective for Community Strong and being a Board member for Sangha Unity Network are important for self-advocacy. I am able to create graphics and share my experiences.

When people are acknowledged and respected for their valued roles like being an employee, a neighbor, a committee member or volunteer, others in the community begin to recognize their full potential, and more opportunities become available. This is how roles and relationships grow, and how we build better, beloved communities. Uniting for Change invites all self-advocates to identify and bring forth their own unique contributions all around Georgia - we believe everyone is needed and everyone belongs. 

RISE UP AND SPEAK OUT!

Uniting for Change is a statewide, grassroots network of self-advocates, allies, and supporters in Georgia that was founded in 2019 through a grant from Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities. This network is committed to advocating, organizing, showing up and being heard. Uniting for Change members seek to share information, create opportunities and influence change. Visit their website at https://www.uniting4change.org/.

Georgia Legislator, Sharon CooperWhen Georgia legislator Sharon Cooper, R-Marietta, heard from a constituent that there were residents making as little as 22 cents an hour, she had to do a double take.

“It seems like that is something out of the 1800s when we didn't have child labor laws and they had children working for six cents an hour. It’s just antiquated,” she said.

Cooper gathered her team to research the issue and discovered that low wages for people with disabilities isn’t just a common practice, it’s part of federal law.

As a provision of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, he issued an executive order on Feb. 17, 1934, that permitted payment of individuals with disabilities below the minimum wage. In 1938, Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that created a special exemption in Section 14(c) of the Act authorizing employers to pay wages much lower than the minimum wage to workers with disabilities. According to research by Advancing Employment, an advocate for inclusive employment in Georgia,  these wage provisions were originally created to encourage the employment of veterans with disabilities in a manufacturing-centered economy.

In preparing to present a bill next year, Cooper’s team is studying efforts made nationally and in other states to phase out the federal law.  

History of Subminimum Wages for People with Disabilities

From the FLSA came the term “sheltered workshop” which refers to an organization or environment that employs people with disabilities separately from others, usually with exemptions from labor standards, including but not limited to the absence of minimum wage requirements.

According to an article by Dr. Patricia Farrell in the Feb. 25, 2023, edition of BeingWell, sheltered workshops yielded benefits of developing and maintaining social and economic potential and providing differently-abled participants dignity and self-respect. Moreover, the skills empowered them to live independent lives.

However, the lack of regulatory standards allowed contracts between businesses and workshops that didn't provide that workers would be paid anything near the minimum wage. In some states, such as Utah, this information is not available to the public, and workers may receive 50 cents an hour or less, Farrell wrote.

According to Farrell’s research, the average pay for people who work in sheltered workshops for people with disabilities varied greatly. While some workers are paid as little as $0.50 per hour, others receive between $3.34 and $5.49 per hour.

Additionally, an article produced in November 2022 for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with The Kansas City Beacon reported on sheltered workshops in Missouri. More than 5,000 adults with disabilities work in Missouri’s sheltered workshops, some earning less than $1 per hour, the report showed.

Instead of outrage, the individuals and their families seemed to strongly support sheltered workshops, the reporter said.

“They didn’t focus on the low pay or the dearth of other opportunities. Most said they were simply grateful for the jobs that the facilities offered,” wrote Madison Hopkins. 

She concluded that the seemingly widespread support among sheltered workshop employees and their families masked the failure of the state to provide them with meaningful employment options.

Regardless of the intent, paying subminimum wages for the same work is discriminatory, said Cooper. She’s planning to introduce a bill in the 2024 Georgia General Assembly legislative session to phase out Section 14(c) of the FLSA.

“When you start to change laws like this, you have to be very careful that you don't interfere with any other benefits,” said Cooper. “The other thing is that you can't just go from 22 cents an hour to requiring a minimum wage for everyone. It would be nice to be able to do that when people work. But people just don't like for laws to change that quickly.”

Having a law in the books is the direction that many advocates for people with disabilities want to go. In the meantime, there are other actions being taken to bring about parity.

Efforts to Provide Inclusive Employment for People with Developmental Disabilities

Since the FLSA was enacted, there have been other government actions set in place to get residents with disabilities into the workforce. 

On May 8, 2018, Georgia’s Employment First Act (HB 831), which promotes employment as the first and preferred option offered to people with disabilities receiving government funded services, was signed into law. The state joined a national movement that included 45 other states with some form of Employment First initiative, legislation or executive order.

The year after the law took effect, the number of employed Georgians with intellectual or other developmental disabilities (I/DD) grew. According to the Department of Labor’s American Community Survey, there were 74,821 in 2018 and 82,876 in 2019 – the most recent data available. Similarly, the number of Georgians with I/DD who were employed and receiving Supplemental Security Income rose during the same time frame. According to data from the Social Security Administration, that number went from 7,854 in 2018 to 8,184 in 2019.

Additionally, a report commissioned by the Administration for Community Living (ACL) and Administration on Disabilities (AoD) and published by the National Disability Rights Network shows that reforms are growing. 

• As of 2001, state vocational rehabilitation (VR) programs cannot count placements in segregated work as an employment outcome under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which authorizes public funding for employment services for individuals with disabilities.
• In 2014, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) amended the Rehabilitation Act to “maximize opportunities for individuals with disabilities, including individuals with the most significant disabilities, for CIE.”
• The WIOA amendments included a host of requirements around career counseling, informed choice and, among others, promoting self-advocacy and self-determination.

‘I’ve got to make it on my own’

There are many companies who’ve enacted their own diversity and inclusion policies where adults with I/DD work among the rank and file. They receive the same wages and benefits as others in the same or similar positions. Bruce T. Arnold, an associate in the garden department at Home Depot is one example.

Bruce Arnold with Suzanne Clark, Supported Employment Specialist with Woodright Industrie“I work in a lawnmower section, the equipment section anywhere, like in the outside area,” he said during an interview for the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities.

The Home Depot gig is Arnold’s third job. He had worked in a sheltered workshop but needed to make a living wage to provide for himself and his family. The sheltered workshop company, Woodright Industries, offered job coaching and helped Arnold find work in the sanitation department with the city of Kennesaw. When that position was privatized, he ended up at Home Depot.

Arnold said a strong work ethic was instilled in him early on and he likes his job. When asked what he likes about it, his answer was simple, “It's just dealing with the public. Helping people out,” he said. “But I do not let my disability affect what I do.”

He’s an advocate for giving people with disabilities the opportunity to provide for themselves by earning a living wage.

“I'm a type of person that I've got to make it on my own,” Arnold said. “I have been a willing, driven person that wants to get things done and not let things happen.”

Unfortunately, not every sheltered workshop turns into a regular wage situation.

“I know that we have one sheltered workshop still in Cartersville. And the thing is, the people were still making money off of the individuals coming in there and working for subminimum wage. And so it was like a business thing, which a lot of them are, it's just business,” said Suzanne Clark, a supported employment specialist with Woodright Industries. “They treat [the workers] like they're so ignorant that they won't recognize those pennies.”

Clark encourages her clients to seek out training and job opportunities to help them maintain independence.

“We need to reach out to those individuals and let them know, ‘Hey, you can do this or that [and] you can make more money.’ And try to make them understand why that's a good thing,” said Clark. “They need to be made aware of how worthy they are.”

Job Training, Placement Isn’t Charity

Preparing people with disabilities for job development and job training is what Briggs and Associates has done for about 35 years.Associates from Briggs and Associates

“It's a community-based agency and so we actually don't have an office. We've operated outside of an office since way before COVID,” said Emily Myers, region director for Briggs & Associates. "We're really one of the earliest agencies to do what we do in Georgia, and continue to be one of the largest and in terms of outcomes, to have the more positive outcomes in terms of agencies internationally.”

Myers said the organization uses innovative ways to work with businesses.

“We're out in the community all the time. We meet people where they live. We meet people in their preferred neighborhoods. … We spend a lot of time getting to know the individuals we serve. And so by doing that we have such a good sense of who they are, and what they are really good at. We really focus on strengths and kind of put the disability to the side for a minute,” she said.

She added that Briggs & Associates doesn’t limit itself to any particular industry.

“We go in and we look for a way to help them with their bottom line. … We don't go in and just ask for a job, tell the story of what we do and expect that to be a fit – it's not a charity in any way.”

The company employs what it calls a five-step strategy to get people with disabilities into the workforce earning fair wages:

• Identify the person’s skills, interests and conditions for success.
• Analyze sites/jobs to address accommodations and liability concerns.
• Design the training program.
• Consult with the business team to enhance understanding and interaction with the new employee.
• Provide ongoing support that may be needed to ensure success for continued employment.

“What we do is really look at what are some parts of a business's operations that could be done more efficiently, effectively, maybe with a little more morale and excitement and look at what the business has just not been able to address within their current workforce,” said Myers. “And then we look within our client base to see if we have the right fit to be able to solve that business need. So it is a negotiation the whole way.”

Briggs & Associates has gained international recognition for being employment first focused and opposed to any sort of subminimum wage employment, as well as any non-competitive employment. 

“Our job is to find the right fit. And that's the challenge. So we do individual support. We do not serve people in groups. We don't serve people in facilities. Everything's community-based and everything is with a traditional employer at the going rate,” said Myers. “So no person we serve makes less than minimum. Our average is … about $12 or $13 an hour.”

And because the fight for fair wages is being waged in legislative chambers, Briggs & Associates does a lot of advocacy work by getting involved with groups that speak with representatives at the Gold Dome.

“[We want] to be sure that they understand that Employment First is the way to go for people in Georgia, and that subminimum wage should be eliminated completely.”

Success Begins with Policy Change

University of Georgia (UGA) professor Doug CrandelI agrees that there are several ways to end subminimum wages for people with developmental disabilities. He serves as public service faculty at the Institute on Human Development and Disability at the UGA and has worked for decades on ending the sheltered workshops and provider programs that rob workers of fair wages.

Doug Crandell“I've got a sister with disabilities. I'm an advocate and I've worked in the field for 30 years,” he said. Crandell also authored Twenty-Two Cents an Hour: Disability Rights and the Fight to End Subminimum Wages.

Crandell says the companies making money off these individuals have strong lobbyists and win contracts to supply workers at subminimum wages.

“It's just abuse after abuse after abuse,” he said, adding that the resistance is great to maintain the status quo. 

And although Rep. Cooper is planning to introduce legislation next session to phase out the practice, there’s federal efforts to bring about the same outcomes.

“The Feds last year around this time, announced 14 states to receive from the Rehabilitation Services Administration grant funding, Georgia was one of them,” he said. “So we have examples of progress.”

Currently, 13 states are trying to ban or phase out subminimum wages, said Crandell. He pointed out that California has about 9,000 people on subminimum wages while Georgia has more like 200-250 people.

“The bigger issue, though, is where do those folks go?” said Crandell. “And what we can see from the data is what we call provider agencies or entities that are supposed to be providing services for folks are just moving people into day programs instead of competitive integrated employment.” 

His decades of research and advocacy, brought out an impassioned plea for reform.

“As it stands right now, in the United States, it is permissible to pay people with disabilities subminimum wages in 38 states. And we don't know what will happen with the national bill. Because it's stalled a little and …  the lobbying continues,” he said. “So I'm so glad to talk to Representative Cooper and this is probably the best traction we've gotten, but … it's important for anyone to understand, it really is just the first step. Because it's not really the number of people who are on subminimum wages in Georgia, it's the number of people who are also in day programs, who are not getting a chance to go out and work in the community. There are thousands of those people.”

Although there have been countless advocates, there is still a lot of work to do, he said. 

Crandell has ideas of how to eliminate the unfair labor practices.

• Take advantage of Georgia’s robust economy by offering tax incentives to employers who offer fair wages to adults with developmental disabilities.
• Utilize the supports already in place such as the Employment First Council. Find ways to provide transportation and training to individuals who will benefit from those programs.
• Overturn the laws that allow the subminimum wage.

Once those provisions are put into place, the road to success should be smoother.

“I don't see resistance on the business employer side,” said Crandell. “The biggest barrier to making these changes, whether it's phasing out Georgia

 subminimum wages or making sure folks with disabilities who are in day programs get an opportunity to work, it's really our policies. It's really provider agencies. I mean, there are community service boards, other providers who they'll tell you, they don't get enough funding, I don't believe that.” 

Crandell added, “And I also believe that businesses and industry are begging for people to come to work,” he said. “So all these things can be very creative.”

When it comes to dollars and cents, households in the United States that have a member with an intellectual or other developmental disability represent $66 billion in purchasing power annually, Crandell pointed out. 

“So when I talk to businesses and industry, I don't talk about, ‘hey, you should do this to be a good community member,’ I talk about $66 billion in purchasing power. I talk about tons of talent that's not being used. That they can benefit from diversifying their workforce. And so the economic reasons to do it are what resonate with people.”

Naomi Williams (right), leader of Exceptional Living 101Life can change in an instant. From a loved one falling ill, to a natural disaster in your hometown, to a pandemic shutting down the world, emergencies can strike any time, any place, and to anyone. And, when it comes to people with disabilities, medical, situational and mental health emergencies can be even more critical and difficult to navigate. For example, a person who uses a wheelchair is more likely to experience a crisis if a building’s elevator breaks down, such as Naomi Williams’ son, Noah, who uses a wheelchair. He also has significant medical needs and requires full-time support, so a broken elevator can cause a dangerous situation for him and his caregivers. 

Williams has a long personal and professional history in the developmental disabilities field and now runs her own consulting organization, Exceptional Living 101, to help people in the disability community navigate life-altering events and ensure the life they want. 

She said,“An elevator being out is not an emergency for everyone, but for someone who is independent and able to navigate in a power wheelchair on their own, if an elevator goes out and they're stuck on the second or third floor, what do you do?”

Having experienced emergency situations such as this, Williams applied for, and was awarded, a public health workforce grant from the Georgia Council for Developmental Disabilities (GCDD). The purpose of the grant project is to help enhance emergency preparedness for people with disabilities and their families. She aims to build a better understanding of what people in the disability community go through, noting that emergencies may vary between people with different types of disabilities, or even people from different geographical regions.

“With this grant and with the listening sessions that we're doing, we are wanting to be able to identify what is considered an emergency to you, so [we are] working our way across the state, because what somebody on the coast, in Savannah or Brunswick, what they prepare for is not all the same that someone in North Georgia prepares for or vice versa,” Williams said.

Williams also felt the need to pursue emergency preparedness work as a result of the pandemic. She stated, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, the disability community was left out. The disability community was like an afterthought with a lot of things.” 

She cited transportation as one of the most significant obstacles. Those who relied on wheelchair accessible paratransit were, and continue to be, affected by the nationwide staffing shortage. Without enough drivers and support staff, people with disabilities have gotten stuck or stranded for hours. 

As a first step, Williams has co-hosted several in-person and virtual listening sessions throughout the state of Georgia. The listening sessions provide a person-centered approach to learning about and addressing emergency preparedness.

“We can't create something for someone based on what we think they need. Happens all the time, but that doesn't always work out well. And so being able to talk to people who know what they need, [we can] create a plan together, even if it's a loose plan,” Williams explained.

Through the listening sessions, she hopes to be able to provide answers to difficult questions like: 

“How do you protect yourself if the world shuts down again?” 

“What do I need in order to be safe and provide myself and my family the things that we need?”

“How can we be proactive?”

And, “If you have [emergency] disruptions, what do you need to have in place so it's not catastrophic?”

The next step in the plan will be working with current partners and, perhaps, developing relationships with new ones, to develop effective ways to connect, share and disseminate the emergency preparedness tools and information. Williams envisions tangible resources including electronic and printable documents, as well as resources to provide plain language in news, media and television. 

When news is being broadcast, Williams imagines a resource that utilizes language that “anybody can understand, not [on a] Dr. Fauci or micro virologist level. Viewers or listeners would be able to break it down and say, ‘this is how you can prepare. This is what this means.’”

For more information on how the disability community in Georgia can learn more about emergency preparedness, contact Naomi Williams at

Georgia Options Executive Director, Pamela Walley, and daughter, Callie, pose for a selfie“The world will be missing out if we don’t do what is necessary. And we clearly have shown that what is necessary are these Direct Support Professionals,” remarked Pam Walley, executive director of Georgia Options. “We're going to miss out on the contributions of a lot of really talented, wonderful, giving, creative, amazing people,” she added.

Walley’s work at Georgia Options helps support people with disabilities in their homes and in the community. But, just like other disability support organizations across Georgia and the nation, it is struggling to recruit and retain Direct Support Professionals (DSPs).

A Georgia Options DSP and an individual enjoy the pool through one of Georgia Options’ community programsThe DSP workforce shortage has been an on-going issue for decades, but it has now become a crisis. People who rely on DSPs for care and community connection are left with few caregiving options. Between poverty-level wages, insufficient benefits, inadequate training, and a lack of advancement opportunities, recruiting and retaining DSPs is a growing challenge. 

A DSP is defined as an employee who spends at least 50% of their time providing direct support for a person with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD). Marquise Little, former staffing coordinator at Georgia Options, spoke about some of his difficulties recruiting DSPs over the last few years. He reported that people would frequently use “easy apply” without fully reading the job description or pay rate. Additionally, applicants wouldn’t show up for interviews. Little explained, “You might have 10 interviews lined up and you have one [show up].”

DSP Wage Inequality

A study by the Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota and the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals, found that the average hourly DSP wage was $13.92 in 2020, with ranges between $6.25 and $40 per hour. In Georgia, wages have been found to be between $10 and $11 per hour, far below Georgia’s living wage of $20.80 for an individual.

One reason for low pay is that the profession does not have a Standard Occupational Classification (SOC). SOCs are an important tool for the different levels of government to identify employment trends and create policies, including rate-setting for state Medicaid programs. This has left policymakers without data that enables them to make informed decisions to help with recruiting, retaining and paying DSPs a fair wage.

Impact from the Pandemic

The pandemic has made the crisis worse by causing big businesses to significantly increase entry-level wages to attract more employees during a global shortage. As disability organizations rely on limited Medicaid funding, they are left without a way to compete with many retail and restaurant businesses like Target or McDonald’s.

Georgians with disabilities and their families are suffering. And, many are being forced to make difficult decisions about their short and long-term care. The national need for intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) supports has increased by 390% in the last two decades. 

A 2022 report by ANCOR stated that 83% of providers are having to turn away new referrals, a 25.8% increase since the beginning of the pandemic. And, 63% of providers are having to discontinue programs and services due to insufficient staffing, an overwhelming 85.3% increase since the pandemic. 

Not only do these challenges impact the safety and standard of living for people with disabilities, but also they interfere with their legal right to participate in the community and have the same opportunities as people without disabilities, as outlined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Direct Support Professionals commonly support people with disabilities in their daily activities, which can include anything from changing clothes to toileting to running errands to advocating to employment support. 

But, people on the ground floor, like Little, see the complexity and nuance reflected in the position. He refers to DSPs as the “pieces of the car that you don’t necessarily see operating,” but are, in fact, “the backbone of the developmental disabilities population.”

In a 2017 President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCPID) report, the committee presented data depicting the various and numerous roles that DSPs hold, and the average amount of time spent performing those roles (Figure 1). 
(Figure 1)

The report further stated, “Like teachers, [DSPs] develop and implement effective strategies to teach people new skills. Like nurses, they dispense medications, administer treatments, document care and communicate with medical professionals. Like various allied health professionals, they assess needs, implement specific treatment plans and document progress. Like social workers, they get people connected to community resources and benefits. Like counselors, they listen, reflect and offer suggestions. DSPs provide whatever support it takes so people can live and participate in their communities with greater independence and dignity” (pp. 15-16 of the report).

DSP from Georgia Relates to the Issues

hom Strickland, and the individual he helps support, Jason, relax together in the great outdoorsThom Strickland, a DSP at Georgia Options, can relate. He, too, has had to take on many different roles during his career as a DSP. Strickland has been a DSP for 19 years and has been caring for the same individual, Jason. Jason is nonverbal and Strickland reports that he is lovably stubborn. Strickland ensures that Jason has ample time within the greater community, and he frequently provides transportation and community navigation. 

Strickland notes that Jason doesn’t need to go to the grocery store three times a week, but getting out and interacting with the world is beneficial to everyone. And, after years of getting to know Jason, Strickland serves as interpreter and translator by relaying the “minutia of [Jason’s] needs and his subtle way of communicating” to others.

More than a decade after Jason (right) and DSP, Thom Strickland (left) started working together, they navigate the pandemic with time outdoors in the snow“I'm not going to say he has a hard time communicating his needs if you know him, but if you were just to come in, like say I've taken him to doctor's appointments, that sort of thing, often they don't know what to do with him. They don’t know how to communicate with him,” Strickland explained.

Though his role as a DSP was supposed to be a temporary way to fill some extra hours over the holidays, Strickland fell in love with Jason and now considers him family.

“I kept saying, I'm going to do it three more months, I'm going to do it two more months. And here we are 19 years later and I'm still with the guy,” he remarked.

Though Strickland has been a DSP for nearly two decades, it has never been a position that could financially sustain him. He has worked additional jobs to support himself. Between managing a kayak store to playing music, Strickland regularly clocks 100 hours per week. When asked how he does it, his response was, “lots of coffee.”

DSPs like Strickland are few and far between due to the unsustainable lifestyle, but it is fair to say that DSPs who stay in the job are the caregivers of our society. 

At Georgia Options, Little started off as a DSP and worked his way up to operations manager. Like Strickland, Little supplemented his DSP income with side jobs, including Uber and DoorDash. He even took a pay cut from his previous restaurant job.

But his roots remain grounded. “I actually realized that I enjoy what I do, I felt like I was making a difference,” he said. “I am forever a DSP.”

To learn more about the DSP Workforce, visit https://nadsp.org/

A Path to Direct Support Professional Retention

Entities across the country are putting their heads together to come up with solutions to the Direct Support Professional (DSP) crisis. Putting aside the need for increased Medicaid funding, people like Carol Britton Laws, clinical professor of disability studies, principal investigator and training director at the University of Georgia are helping to provide multi-layered approaches to DSP retention. 

One of those approaches has been the development of a DSP employee resource network. Borrowing concepts from Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), the network would connect DSPs with resources when personal circumstances might prevent them from getting to work. 

Organizations, both big and small, could buy into the DSP EAP concept and get a success coach who would work directly with staff to identify and utilize existing community resources. The success coach would help answer questions like:

“What do I do if my car breaks down and I don't have the money to get it fixed? How can I access food banks in my area with the price of food and inflation being higher than my wages? How can I find childcare if my child's school is closed or my child is sick? How can I pay for the internet in my home in order to access professional development training?”

With the support of Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD) funding, Service Providers Association for Developmental Disabilities, Georgia’s State Provider Association on Developmental Disabilities, and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities will launch a pilot program in 2024. 

“I think that [it] will go a long way in helping committed staff who really want to show up, [but] are struggling in their own lives, to really be present for people who are receiving supports through their organization [and] be able to stay on the job,” stated Britton Laws.

Additionally, Britton Laws has been part of creating a DSP credentialing trajectory, which would allow both new and seasoned DSPs to exhibit mastery in specific skills to gain professional recognition. And, with such high turnover in the field, she and other stakeholders believe that developing a career path with recognition and pay raises will help retain staff for longer than the current 6-month to one-year average. Britton Laws spoke about the present and past expectations of DSPs, noting that it is “typically considered to be a career where people aren't expected to have a high level of education to enter it.” But there are skills, knowledge and values that are required for a DSP to be successful that go beyond the standard medication administration and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training. 

Britton Laws explained, “What staff really need is to have a set of competencies that helps them to navigate how to support an individual in a space where they might be trying to reach goals that are related to their own health or employment or relationships or being involved in their community.”

These tactics are positive steps towards the system overhaul that will be required to provide dedicated DSPs with the quality professional experiences that they deserve.