[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 337 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 337

Designating the week beginning September 10, 2023, as ``National Direct 
               Support Professionals Recognition Week''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 12, 2023

    Mr. Cardin (for himself, Ms. Collins, Mr. Kaine, Mr. King, Ms. 
 Klobuchar, Ms. Warren, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Brown, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. 
    Casey, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Welch, Mr. Whitehouse, and Ms. Smith) 
 submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Designating the week beginning September 10, 2023, as ``National Direct 
               Support Professionals Recognition Week''.

Whereas direct care workers, including direct support professionals, 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 direct support professionals provide essential services that ensure that 
        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; and

    (6) assisting individuals in the transition from isolated or congregate 
settings or services to living in the communities of their choice;

Whereas there is a critical and increasing shortage of direct support 
        professionals throughout the United States, a crisis that was 
        exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing uncertainty and risk to 
        individuals with disabilities;
Whereas direct support professionals do not have their own Standard Occupational 
        Classification for the purposes of Federal data collection, which 
        includes data produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the 
        Department of Labor;
Whereas the direct care workforce, including direct support professionals, is 
        expected to grow more than any other occupation in the United States;
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 person-centered, community-based 
service options to individuals with intellectual and developmental 
disabilities: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates the week beginning September 10, 2023, 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;
            (3) appreciates the contribution of direct support 
        professionals in supporting individuals with disabilities in 
        the United States and the families of those individuals;
            (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 that is 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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