The State of America’s Direct Support Workforce Crisis 2021

Following up on our 2020 survey on the state of America’s direct support workforce crisis, ANCOR fielded another survey in August and September 2021 to determine if and how the COVID-19 pandemic had exacerbated the bleak picture painted in our 2020 survey.

This year’s State of America’s Direct Support Workforce Crisis survey confirms what we suspect: that COVID-19 had made the challenges facing providers significantly worse. Results from 450 respondents reveal that especially in light of the public health emergency, providers are turning away new referrals, struggling to meet quality standards, discontinuing programs, and delaying the launch or implementation of new programs. Together, these findings suggest that access to quality services for people with I/DD will be threatened in the future absent a significant investment in home- and community-based services and the workforce that delivers those services.