In 1996, a woman with Down syndrome named Annie Forts handed President Bill Clinton a report in the Oval Office that would become the first official government document to identify the DSP workforce crisis.

Standing beside her was John F. Kennedy Jr., who chaired the committee.

That moment—quiet, historic, and almost forgotten—planted the seed for a national organization dedicated to elevating the DSP profession…

For leaders in human services, there’s one reality everyone feels but few can easily fix: you can’t deliver great care without a stable workforce.

The struggle to hire and keep Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) has shaped nearly every conversation in the field for years — and while the headlines often focus on crisis, the truth is more complex. Across the country, DSP wages are rising, turnover is finally trending down, and there’s new momentum behind workforce reform.

But beneath that hopeful trendline, something bigger is unfolding.

Every provider leader knows the tension: you can’t deliver great services without a stable, supported workforce—and yet the workforce itself feels harder than ever to sustain.

I recently sat down with Laura Vegas of the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disability Services (NASDDDS) and Dorothy Hiersteiner of the Human Services Research Institute (HSRI)—two of the leading voices behind the National Core Indicators (NCI) State of the Workforce Survey. It’s the most comprehensive dataset we have on DSP turnover, tenure, wages, and workforce stability, and it’s helping states and providers alike turn numbers into strategy.

Their findings don’t just tell a national story…

There’s a hard truth most leaders in disability services know but rarely say out loud:
You can’t pay people enough to stay if the culture isn’t right.

Yes, fair pay matters. But when direct support professionals (DSPs) and supervisors describe why they stay, the stories almost never begin with a paycheck. They begin with…

When you’re leading in human services, it can feel like you’re constantly running to catch up. You’re short-staffed, stretched thin, and still trying to keep morale up. So when you hear that another organization has actually doubled their staff retention, it’s natural to wonder: Okay, what are they doing that we’re not?

That’s exactly what caught my attention when I sat down with the leadership team from CHI Friendship in North Dakota. Their story isn’t about big budgets, fancy recognition software, or flashy initiatives. It started with something much smaller—and surprisingly simple.

It started with one question…

Every once in a while, you hear an idea that makes you stop mid-sentence.
That’s exactly what happened when Dr. Mike Strouse started describing how GoodLife Innovations delivers care—not just through group homes, not just through shift rotations—but through neighborhoods.

Yes, neighborhoods.

It’s part of what they call their Neighborhood Network Model, and it’s so different—and so effective—that it might…

For years, I’ve heard the same refrains from human service leaders: “We’ve tried everything—better onboarding, stay interviews, recognition programs, you name it—and we’re still short-staffed.”

So when I sat down with Dr. Mike Strouse, CEO of GoodLife Innovations and founder of GoodLifeU, I expected to hear more of the same: a few clever ideas about engagement or coaching or culture.

Instead, my jaw hit the floor…

Most agency leaders can quote their turnover rate.

“We’re at about 35%.”
“That’s not great, but it’s about the national average.”

Here’s the problem: those numbers are lying to you.

When you dig deeper, you often find…

If you’re leading a human services agency right now, you probably know the feeling: vacancies are piling up, overtime is draining your budget, and every time you hire someone new, you’re already bracing for when they’ll quit. It’s exhausting—and worse, it can feel like there’s no way out.

But here’s the truth: there is a path forward. Agencies across the country are proving it’s possible to…

If you’ve ever worried that growing your organization might mean losing the culture that made it special, you’re not alone. Many leaders in human services face that tension: more staff, more regulations, more complexity… and less of the closeness and agility that got you started.

CARES of Western PA shows that it doesn’t have to be that way.

Over the last decade, this family-owned agency has grown from…

What does it really take to grow an IDD provider agency without burning out your culture—or your people?

CARES of Western PA has the answer. In just one decade, they scaled from 4 employees to nearly 100. Even more impressive? They’ve maintained a family-like culture, created pathways for staff growth, and…

Ever been driving along, feeling confident, only to have a car suddenly appear in your blind spot? Heart rate spikes. Quick correction. Lesson learned.

Leadership blind spots work the same way. The only difference is that instead of merging into traffic, you’re merging people, culture, and outcomes. And in IDD services—where the stakes are high and the staffing shortage is real…

Have you ever felt like no matter how much effort you pour into your team, the stress just keeps coming back? The overtime shifts. The open positions you can’t seem to fill. The frustration you sense from staff who feel unheard or stretched too thin.

If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. In fact, you’re right in the middle…

Leading in autism and IDD services can feel like a constant balancing act—meeting compliance requirements while trying to stay true to what really matters: people.

The truth is, when leadership drifts away from meaningful outcomes, staff burn out faster and individuals don’t get the quality of life they deserve. But when we keep people at the center, both staff and individuals thrive.

That’s the message Dr. Peter Gerhardt emphasizes in

If you’ve been in a leadership role in human services for more than, say, four minutes, you’ve probably felt the pressure to “have all the answers.” The quicker you solve the problem, the better leader you must be… right?

Well—maybe not.

Dr. Peter Gerhardt, Executive Director of EPIC School and co-author of Make It Meaningful would argue that leadership is a lot less about quick fixes and a lot more about patience, humility, and shaping growth over time…

Most mission-driven leaders can rattle off their organization’s values in a heartbeat.

We believe in dignity, choice, inclusion, empowerment…

But how often do those values show up in the way day-to-day decisions are made? In how frontline staff approach their shifts? In how team culture is shaped and sustained?

It’s one thing to name your values.
It’s another to make them…

I’ll admit it — I really like tech and innovation.

But when I heard that Arkansas Support Network had trained an AI to be radically person-centered, my first thought was somewhere between “Are you for real?” and “This is a game-changer.”

But then I spoke with Dr. Syard Evans, and…wow. What they’ve created isn’t just…

Most leaders in human services want the same thing:
Keep good people. Stop the turnover treadmill.

But here’s what usually happens:

• We hear about a retention “best practice” from another agency.

• Or someone on our team says, “We should just raise wages!” (as if there’s a magic budget tree).

• Or we try everything at once…

Let’s paint the picture.
It’s 2:40 p.m. You just got a text that someone called out. Again.
Then another staffer walks into your office and says, “Hey, the new guy’s here for his first day.”

Relief floods your body like a Gatorade commercial.
Maybe—just maybe—this shift can be covered.

But now comes the decision…

Let’s face it.

DSP recruitment these days feels a little like dating apps:
You get excited by the number of matches (applications)…

Only to be ghosted before the first date (interview).

And even when things go well, you’re left wondering…