The State of America’s Direct Support Workforce Crisis 2025

Key Findings

In August and September 2025, ANCOR surveyed 469 community-based providers of intellectual and developmental disabilities services across 48 states and the District of Columbia. The State of America’s Direct Support Workforce Crisis 2025 reveals that:

• 88% of providers experienced moderate or severe staffing shortages in the past year, a slight improvement from 90% in 2024.
• 62% of providers reported turning away new referrals due to inadequate staffing, down from 69% in 2024 but still well above pre-pandemic levels.
• 29% of providers were discontinuing programs or service offerings due to staffing shortages, a modest improvement from 39% last year.
• 59% of providers intended to delay the launch of new programs, down from 64% in 2024.
• 52% of providers were considering further cuts to programs if recruitment and retention challenges failed to subside, a dramatic increase from 34% in 2024, representing the single greatest year-over-year increase.
• 56% of providers reported their organization delivers services in an area where few or no other providers offer similar services, comparable to 57% in 2024.
• 59% of providers who offer case management services struggled to connect people with services due to a lack of available providers, an increase from  57% in 2024.
• 36% of providers were experiencing more frequent reportable incidents, which survey findings indicate are contributed to by high turnover and vacancy rates, down from 45% in 2024.
• 62% of providers indicated they were struggling to achieve quality standards due to staffing challenges.

To learn more about this year’s findings, you can download the full report and read our press release.

Download the 2025 Survey Report