Recognizing the Role of Direct Support Professionals Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill directs the Office of Management and Budget, during the first Standard Occupational Classification revision after enactment, to consider creating a separate healthcare-support occupation code for direct support professionals. These workers help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities live independently, participate in work and community life, communicate, and complete daily activities. Congressional findings cite a 39 percent national turnover rate and explain that a separate statistical category would distinguish the occupation from home health and personal care aides and improve shortage and turnover data. OMB is not compelled to create the code. If it decides not to do so, the Director must explain the decision to two congressional committees within 30 days after that first revision. No additional appropriations are authorized.
Who Benefits and How
Direct support professionals benefit from formal consideration of a distinct occupational identity and, if adopted, better federal and state data about employment, wages, shortages, and turnover. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, and home- and community-based service providers benefit indirectly from more precise workforce data that can inform recruitment and retention policy. State labor agencies and workforce researchers gain a clearer statistical category if OMB adopts the code, while Congress receives an explanation if it does not.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Office of Management and Budget classification staff must evaluate the proposed code during the next SOC revision and prepare a committee report within 30 days if the Director declines it. Federal statistical agencies may need to revise data collection and occupational coding if the category is adopted, and the bill requires this work without authorizing additional funds.
Key Provisions
- Provides congressional findings on direct support professionals' duties, workforce shortages, and 39 percent turnover rate.
- Requires OMB to consider a separate healthcare-support occupation code during the first post-enactment SOC revision.
- Requires OMB to report to specified Senate and House committees within 30 days if it declines to establish the code.
- Provides no authorization for additional appropriations to carry out the bill.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Require OMB to consider a distinct Standard Occupational Classification code for direct support professionals and explain to Congress if it declines.
Key Policy Areas
Labor, Disability Policy, Government Operations
Primary Purpose
Require OMB to consider a distinct Standard Occupational Classification code for direct support professionals and explain to Congress if it declines.
Policy Domains
Recognizing the Role of Direct Support Professionals Act
Identified Gains
- Direct support professional workers
- People with intellectual and developmental disabilities
- Families using home- and community-based services
- State labor agencies and workforce researchers
Identified Costs
- Office of Management and Budget classification staff
- Federal statistical agency administrators
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedCommittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be …
Ms. Hassan (for herself, Ms. Collins, Ms. Murkowski, Mrs. Gillibrand, …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security …
Introduced in Senate
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Congressional workforce-policy committees, Federal statistical agency operating accounts, Office of Management and Budget classification staff
Positive-direction: Congressional workforce-policy committees
Negative-direction: Federal statistical agency operating accounts, Office of Management and Budget classification staff, Office of Management and Budget operating accounts, Office of Management and Budget reporting staff
Direct support professionals, Disability service employers
People with intellectual disabilities, Taxpayers
Home-based disability service providers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_director"
- → Director of the Office of Management and Budget
- "covered_workers"
- → Direct support professionals
- "service_recipients"
- → Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology