Factors That Influence the Tenure of Direct Support Professionals in New York State Provider Agencies

The New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities seeks to better understand the direct support professional (DSP) workforce and offer data-informed strategies for DSP retention. We used the 2018 NCI-IDD Staff Stability Survey (now called State of the Workforce Survey) to investigate agency-level factors influencing DSP tenure. A total 303 provider agencies completed the survey in New York State, representing 72,252 DSPs. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that selected agency-level variables explained 12.6% of the variance in DSP tenure, R2 = .16, Radj2 = .126, F (11, 260) = 4.54, p < .05. This study yielded strong empirical evidence consistent with existing national reports and research on the role that wages, benefits, and supervisory support play on DSP tenure.