Individual Stories
Staffing Shortages Have a Direct Impact on Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities and their Families
Individuals with intellectual disabilities rely on Direct Support Professionals to support them in their daily lives. This page shares real stories from individuals and families affected by the hiring crisis.
A young man with autism has lived for months in a Reno hospital. He's not sick. He has nowhere else to go
(Excerpts from Reno Gazette Journal News Story)
Why doesn’t Nevada have enough services for people with severe autism?
The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services is the agency charged with helping people who need assistance, such as elderly people who can no longer care for themselves and people who have severe mental, intellectual or physical disabilities.
Its public information coordinator, Miles Terrasas, said by email that HHS “is aware the current service system is struggling to serve individuals with intensive behavioral support needs due to the complexity of the needs of the individual, staffing and available housing.”
In short, there’s more demand for the special type of group home CJ needs – yet the state is struggling to get enough of these group homes set up.
In bureaucratic parlance, the state contracts with "supported living arrangement" providers, who then work with "direct service" providers to staff these group homes.
The direct service providers are responsible for the day-to-day care of people within each home. They assist with laundry, cleaning, hygiene, shopping, medication management and socialization.
In homes with people who have complex behavioral needs like CJ, caregivers often need higher levels of training on topics such as positive behavior support, crisis intervention and working with various mental health diagnoses.
There was already traditionally high turnover among these in-home caregivers. A big reason for the inability to keep people in those jobs – besides "getting injured and wiping butts," as CJ's guardian Mahon put it – is the low pay. Average wages, Terrasas said, are $12 to $15 an hour.
Besides staffing shortages, many providers report difficulties in finding appropriate rental homes to open new 24-hour intensive supported living settings.
As of Dec. 31, the waitlist for intensive supported living arrangement homes is:
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8 – Reno area
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8 – rural areas
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157 – Las Vegas area
Shawn and Marcus's Story (Las Vegas)
Shawn and Marcus
Phillip's Story (Las Vegas)
Philip
The most alarming consequences – clip from "Invaluable"
Expecting more for less – clip from "Invaluable"
Wearing many hats – clip from "Invaluable"
Workforce demand – clip from "Invaluable"
