People with intellectual disabilities and their families employ line workers, known as Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) to support these individuals either in their own homes or in day or employment programs. Unfortunately these programs cannot find people willing to be employed as DSPs, due to the level of reimbursements paid through the state with Medicaid funds distributed by Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services to community programs. To discuss the crisis that is impacting hundreds of Erie County families were John Barber, the President of the Barber National Institute, Kim Serafin, a nurse and a mom from Erie, and a parent of a young adult, who requires 24/7 care from her and his father, and Gary Blumenthal, Vice President of government relations and advocacy for InVision Human Services, based in Wexford.
