Developmental services: direct support professionals

The law standardizes the workforce title across developmental-services statutes. It ties the title to paid, hands-on support workers serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

What the law does ​

• Defines a direct support professional as a worker paid by a regional-center-funded provider who spends at least half of working time providing direct support to children or adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Specifies qualifying direct-support tasks, including building independence and community inclusion, coaching skills, and helping with daily living.
• Updates existing training, reporting, and bilingual-pay-differential provisions to use the term direct support professional.

Who it affects ​

• Direct support workers employed by service providers that receive regional center funding.
• Children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and their families.
• Regional-center-funded service providers and regional centers.

Context ​

The State Department of Developmental Services must report on development of direct support professional training in its quarterly legislative briefings.