Date of Publication
2023
Abstract
Background:
Difficulty in maintaining workforce serving the Intellectual development disabled (IDD) population and the recruitment and training of direct support professionals (DSPs) is a barrier to care for the IDD population. A high turnover rate can put a large financial burden on these organizations and have a negative impact on the quality of life of the IDD population. Our study aimed to address the current understaffing of Vermont developmental services organizations, like Champlain Community Services (CCS) on the health of individuals with IDD and the surrounding community.
Methods: We utilized raw data collected from CSS addressing employee satisfaction, consumer satisfaction and employee turnover. Additionally, focus groups of public health workers in the VT care partner network and CCS consumers were completed.
Results:
CCS data from 2016-2022 showed a higher turnover rate for employees with less tenure, appearing to indicate that employees who are new to the company may struggle with adjusting to the job. When surveyed on different dimensions of satisfaction from 2019-2022, CCS employees reported the lowest satisfaction in Work Life Balance and Pay/Benefits. These outcomes were supported in the qualitative data collected in the focus groups. Employment Support services—measured in VT population receiving Disability services— appeared to show a downward trend in all services received from 2018-2022.
Conclusion:
The results provide a framework for local care partners to improve their staffing crisis and the health of VT residents with developmental disabilities and suggest a focus for more standard data collection in the future to show correlative outcomes.
Advisor(s)
Stephen Everse, PhD
Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont
Mike Reilly, MA
Community Agency Mentor
Subjects
Community, Disability and Health, Educational and Community-Based Programs, Health Care Access and Quality, Mental Health and Mental Disorders
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License
Recommended Citation
Angier, Tucker; Bayne, Haley N.; Bernier, Julia; Ferguson, Jacquelyn R.; Krumholz, RD/LDN, MS, Sarah; Ogunlana, Emmanuel; and Yishak, Meron, "Workplace shortage Impact on Vermont Developmental Service Organizations" (2023). Public Health Projects, 2008-present. 352.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/352
