Media Toolkit: 2025 Workforce Crisis Survey

Thank you for your interest in spreading the findings of ANCOR’s State of America’s Direct Support Workforce Crisis 2025. Below, you’ll find a template for a Letter to the Editor, sample short-form posts for Bluesky and X, and longer-form posts for Facebook and LinkedIn. There’s also a link to our full library of graphics to be shared.

How to Use This Resource

  • Download the Letter to the Editor Template (hyperlinked as a Word doc, which will automatically download when clicked). Replace all highlighted text, and submit your LTE to your local newspaper! Need help with placing your LTE? Use our guide.
  • There are two sections for sample social media posts. Copy and paste the sample text to use as-is, or customize to meet your needs. Click the image beside sample posts to download full high-quality versions of each graphic.
  • Access our complete library of social graphics (and the accompanying alternative text) by clicking the button below.

View & Download All Social Graphics

A few tips and reminders:

  • Use the hashtag #DSPWorkforceCrisis to add your voice to the conversation online.
  • Tag ANCOR (@TheRealANCOR on Bluesky, X and Facebook, and @ANCOR on LinkedIn) in your posts so we can amplify your message.
  • Find the official X handle for your U.S. Representative.

Template: Letter to the Editor

Note: Be sure to replace and delete all yellow highlighted text. 

Sample Bluesky/X Posts

Impacts on People with I/DD in Rural Areas “We are [in a rural area] and we feel like we have gone through most of the population in our area that would do this work. I am getting worried there is no one left. We lost 50% of staff for one of our services there within a six-week period.”

Sample Post #1

The 2025 Workforce Crisis Survey is full of quotes directly from providers across the country. They offer real-life perspectives on the impact of the data within the report: https://www.ancor.org/resources/the-state-of-americas-direct-support-workforce-crisis-2025/?utm_source=toolkit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=workforce25 #DSPWorkforceCrisis

Sample Post #2

The job of a Direct Support Professional is vital. They offer a variety of supports that are crucial to the dignity and self-determination of each individual with I/DD.
https://www.ancor.org/resources/the-state-of-americas-direct-support-workforce-crisis-2025/?utm_source=toolkit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=workforce25 #DSPWorkforceCrisis

Sample Post #3

Key findings in the 2025 Workforce Crisis Survey found that:

— 56% deliver services in rural areas
— 52% are having to consider further cuts
— 29% are discontinuing programs due to staffing challenges

https://www.ancor.org/resources/the-state-of-americas-direct-support-workforce-crisis-2025/?utm_source=toolkit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=workforce25 #DSPWorkforceCrisis

Sample Post #4

For decades, underinvestment in Medicaid has impeded providers’ ability to offer competitive wages, resulting in DSPs often being forced into other careers. This is a longstanding problem with a simple solution, fund DSP services now!
https://www.ancor.org/resources/the-state-of-americas-direct-support-workforce-crisis-2025/?utm_source=toolkit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=workforce25 #DSPWorkforceCrisis

Sample Facebook/LinkedIn Posts

Sample Post #1

The direct support workforce crisis remains the biggest barrier keeping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families from accessing the home- and community-based services (HCBS) they rely on.

As states lose the COVID-era funding that temporarily boosted wages and benefits, providers are struggling to fill the gaps left behind—now made even wider by the $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts signed into law on July 4. Read ANCOR’s latest findings in their all-new report on the direct support workforce crisis: https://www.ancor.org/resources/the-state-of-americas-direct-support-workforce-crisis-2025/?utm_source=toolkit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=workforce25 #DSPWorkforceCrisis

Sample Post #2

Because Medicaid reimbursement rates haven’t kept pace with costs, providers can’t offer competitive pay. As a result, direct support professionals (DSPs) are being driven from the field, leaving dangerous gaps in care and forcing people with I/DD into more restrictive—and more expensive—settings like hospitals and institutions.

Without renewed investment in Medicaid funding, the crisis will only deepen. It’s time to prioritize the workforce that makes community living possible.
https://www.ancor.org/resources/the-state-of-americas-direct-support-workforce-crisis-2025/?utm_source=toolkit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=workforce25 #DisabilityServices #HCBS #MedicaidMatters #DSPWorkforceCrisis

Have Questions?

If you have questions about the use of this resource or would like to learn more, please email Ashley Smith, ANCOR’s Director of Advocacy & Public Affairs.