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Thank you DSPs!! ❤️

Sign the petition and support DSPs by professionalizing their job! act.thearc.org/campaign/168248/?utm_term=2026-0828&utm_campaign=advocacy&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=... ... See MoreSee Less

Direct Support Professionals are essential to our community, but the workforce continues to face critical shortages.

This DSP Recognition Month, help us raise awareness, show appreciation, and advocate for the support DSPs need to continue this vital work. arccassnd.org/dsp

Together, we can strengthen services and opportunities for people with disabilities.

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DSPs are Teachers, Not Caregivers
Jeff Anderson, M.Ed. Executive Director, The Arc of Cass County

In communities across North Dakota and the nation, Direct Care Professionals (DSP) are often described as “caretakers,” a label that sounds gentle but fundamentally misses the truth of what they do. The word caretaker suggests passivity-someone who watches over others, someone who tends to needs. But anyone who has spent even a single day as a DSP working in the DD field knows that direct care work is not passive. It is instructional. It is developmental. It is educational at its core. Direct Care Professionals are teachers. They always have been.

A DSP may not stand at a whiteboard or hand out worksheets, but their daily work really does resemble the essential functions of teaching. They break down complex skills into manageable steps. They model behaviors. They scaffold learning. They assess progress. They adapt strategies when something isn’t working. They celebrate milestones that others might overlook. They promote self-discovery, reflection, and open-mindedness. They ask questions to encourage critical thinking, to explore understanding, to examine morals, and discuss the logic behind decisions or behaviors.

The curriculum is independence. The classroom is the community. The lesson plans are individualized for every person they support. Whether DSP’s are teaching someone how to prepare a meal, manage medications, manage time and schedules, navigate public transportation, regulate emotions, or advocate for themselves; DSP’s are building lifelong skills. These are not “tasks.” They are lessons and they require patience, expertise, and intentional instruction. Skill building is NOT caretaking, it IS education! The distinction matters. Caretaking is doing something for someone. Teaching is empowering someone to do it for themselves. The entire purpose of developmental disability services is to expand autonomy, not replace it. When service providers offer “independent living services” without teaching the underlying skills, they are providing a shortcut that undermines the mission.

This is not petty squabbling about titles. The consequences of mislabeling DSP’s are visible everywhere. When the role is framed as caretaking, it is undervalued. Wages remain low. Training is inconsistent. Turnover skyrockets. Policymakers treat the workforce as replaceable rather than specialized. This work begins to be viewed as custodial, and when it does, the individuality of support plans disappear, and services prioritize convenience over skill development. However, when you recognize DSP’s as teachers, the conversation shifts. Teachers require training. Teachers (and more importantly their students) require stability. Teachers require professional respect. Teachers require pay that reflects the complexity of their work.

DSP’s, like teachers, pave the way for the future. When skills are mastered, support needs decline. An effective DSP who understands the philosophical intent of their role, can reduce the need for future services; and thus is a long-term cost saver. In a field where budgets are thin, this concept is crucial. Ultimately, the people who care the most about the quality of services need to speak up. This is not about a title- it is about acknowledging the unique work that our DSP’s do. If we want inclusive communities and opportunities for people with disabilities to gain skills, confidence, and independence, we must invest in and respect the professional staff who make that possible.

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