[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 383 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 383
Designating the week beginning September 12, 2021, as ``National Direct
Support Professionals Recognition Week''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 23, 2021
Mr. Cardin (for himself, Ms. Collins, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr.
Brown, Mr. Casey, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Kaine, Mr. King, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr.
Markey, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Rosen, Ms. Smith, Mr. Van Hollen, and Ms.
Warren) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and
agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Designating the week beginning September 12, 2021, as ``National Direct
Support Professionals Recognition Week''.
Whereas direct support professionals, including direct care workers, personal
assistants, personal attendants, in-home support workers, and
paraprofessionals, are key to providing publicly funded, long-term
support and services for millions of individuals with disabilities;
Whereas, during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (referred to in this preamble as
``COVID-19'') pandemic, many direct support professionals continue to
arrive for work every day in order to ensure the health and safety of
individuals with disabilities;
Whereas direct support professionals provide essential services that ensure all
individuals with disabilities are--
(1) included as a valued part of the communities in which those
individuals live;
(2) supported at home, at work, and in the communities of the United
States; and
(3) empowered to live with the dignity that all people of the United
States deserve;
Whereas, by fostering connections between individuals with disabilities and
their families, friends, and communities, direct support professionals
ensure that individuals with disabilities thrive, thereby avoiding more
costly institutional care;
Whereas direct support professionals build close, respectful, and trusting
relationships with individuals with disabilities and provide a broad
range of personalized support to those individuals, including--
(1) helping individuals make person-centered choices;
(2) assisting with personal care, meal preparation, medication
management, and other aspects of daily living;
(3) assisting individuals in accessing the community and securing
competitive, integrated employment;
(4) providing transportation to school, work, religious, and
recreational activities;
(5) helping with general daily affairs, such as assisting with
financial matters, medical appointments, and personal interests;
(6) assisting individuals in the transition from isolated or congregate
settings or services to living in the communities of their choice; and
(7) helping to keep individuals with disabilities safe and healthy
during the COVID-19 pandemic, including by volunteering to quarantine with
individuals whom they care for to reduce spread of the disease;
Whereas there is a documented critical and increasing shortage of direct support
professionals throughout the United States;
Whereas the majority of direct support professionals are employed in home and
community-based settings, and that trend is expected to increase over
the next decade;
Whereas many direct support professionals--
(1) are the primary financial providers for their families;
(2) are hardworking, taxpaying citizens who provide a critical service
in the United States; and
(3) continue to earn low wages, receive inadequate benefits, and have
limited opportunities for advancement, resulting in high turnover and
vacancy rates that adversely affect the quality of support, safety, and
health of individuals with disabilities; and
Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States, in Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S.
581 (1999)--
(1) recognized the importance of the deinstitutionalization of, and
community-based services for, individuals with disabilities; and
(2) held that, under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42
U.S. 12101 et seq.), a State must provide community-based services to
individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities if--
G (A) the community-based services are appropriate;
G (B) the affected individual does not oppose receiving the
community-based services; and
G (C) the community-based services can be reasonably accommodated
after the community has taken into account the resources available to the
State and the needs of other individuals with disabilities in the State:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) designates the week beginning September 12, 2021, as
``National Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week'';
(2) recognizes the dedication and vital role of direct
support professionals in enhancing the lives of individuals
with disabilities of all ages;
(3) appreciates the contribution of direct support
professionals in supporting individuals with disabilities and
their families in the United States;
(4) commends direct support professionals for being
integral to the provision of long-term support and services for
individuals with disabilities;
(5) encourages the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
Department of Labor to collect data specific to direct support
professionals; and
(6) finds that the successful implementation of public
policies affecting individuals with disabilities in the United
States can depend on the dedication of direct support
professionals.
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