RTC-CL 2018-2023 Community Living & Employment: COVID-19 Direct Support Workforce Survey

The Research and Training Center on Community Living and Participation for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (RTC/CL) at the University of Minnesota’s (UMN) Institute on Community Integration (ICI) 5-year cycle of funding ran from September 2018 – September 2023. There are multiple studies in this cycle.  

As part of the workforce study, the University of Minnesota (UMN) and National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals collaborated to lift up the voice of the direct support workforce. The aim of this study was to gather evidence about the experiences of the direct support workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic and to inform efforts to better prepare for future waves of this pandemic.

In April 2020, the ICI launched the COVID-19 Direct Support Workforce Survey, a survey of the direct support workforce population, to explore the experiences of and impact on direct support professionals (DSPs) during the pandemic. This is a series of four surveys, each represented in a separate folder.

Geographic Coverage:  United States , US Territories

Time Period(s):  4/15/2020 – 5/31/2023

Collection Date(s): 4/23/2020 – 5/27/2020 (baseline survey); 11/23/2020 – 1/19/2021 (6-month follow-up survey); 6/1/2021 – 7/25/2021 (12-month follow-up survey); 6/1/2022 – 7/22/2022 (24-month follow-up survey)

Universe:  Direct Support Professionals and Frontline Supervisors in the United States

Data Type:  survey data

Collection Notes:    More information about this survey series is available on the ICI website (https://ici.umn.edu/covid19-survey)

Response Rate:    For the baseline 2020 survey, the final analysis sample contained 8,955 participants. Of those, 8,914 were from the United States, and 41 were from Canada. For the 6-month 2020 follow-up survey, the final analysis sample contained 8,846 participants. For the 12-month 2021 follow-up survey, the final analysis sample contained 5,356 participants.For the 24-month 2022 follow-up survey, the final analysis sample contained 2,657 participants.

Sampling:  The method of data collection was a convenience sample. Data were collected from direct support workforce members across the United States and territories via a web-based survey. The baseline 2020 survey was open April 23, 2020, to May 27, 2020. The 6-month 2020 follow-up survey was open November 23, 2020, to January 19, 2021. The 12-month 2021 follow-up survey was open June 1, 2021, to July 25, 2021. The 24-month 2022 follow-up survey was open June 1, 2022, to July 22, 2022. Information on the survey and how to access the link was posted on ICI’s website, social media, and sent out to contacts across the United States.

Collection Mode:  web-based survey

Unit of Observation:    Person

Geographic Unit:   National, State

The following publications are supplemented by the data in this project.

• Hall, Sarah A., Lynda Lahti Anderson, Sandra L. Pettingell, Alicia Zhang, Julie Bershadsky, Amy Hewitt, and Jerry Smith. “Direct Support Professional and Frontline Supervisor Perspectives on Work-Life in a Pandemic.” Inclusion 10, no. 4 (December 1, 2022): 314–26. https://doi.org/10.1352/2326-6988-10.4.314.

• Hewitt, Amy, Sandra Pettingell, Julie Bershadsky, Jerry Smith, Barbara Kleist, Megan Sanders, Alicia Zhang, Kristin Dean, and Julie Kramme. “Direct Support Workforce and COVID-19 National Survey Report: Twelve-Month Follow-Up.” University of Minnesota: Research and Training Center on Community Living: Institute on Community Integration, September 2021. https://publications.ici.umn.edu/community-living/covid19-survey/overview.

• Hewitt, Amy, Sandra Pettingell, Julie Kramme, Jerry Smith, Kristin Dean, Barbara Kleist, Megan Sanders, and Julie Bershadsky. “The Direct Support Workforce and COVID-19 National Survey Report: 6-Month Follow-Up.” University of Minnesota: Research and Training Center on Community Living: Institute on Community Integration, March 2021. https://publications.ici.umn.edu/community-living/covid19-survey/overview.

• Hewitt, Amy, Sandra Pettingell, Julie Kramme, Jerry Smith, and Barbara Kleist. “Results of the Direct Support Workforce COVID-19 National Survey 2020.” University of Minnesota: Research and Training Center on Community Living: Institute on Community Integration, September 2020. https://publications.ici.umn.edu/community-living/covid19-survey/overview.

• Pettingell, Sandra L., Julie Bershadsky, Amy Hewitt, Lynda Lahti Anderson, and Alicia Zhang. “Direct Support Professionals and COVID-19 Vaccination: A Comparison of Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Direct Support Professionals.” Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities 61, no. 1 (February 1, 2023): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-61.1.1.

• Pettingell, Sandra L., Julie Bershadsky, Lynda Lahti Anderson, Amy Hewitt, John Reagan, and Alicia Zhang. “The Direct Support Workforce: An Examination of Direct Support Professionals and Frontline Supervisors During COVID-19.” Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities 61, no. 3 (June 1, 2023): 197–210. https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-61.3.197.

• Pettingell, Sandra, Julie Bershadsky, Amy Hewitt, Lynda Lahti Anderson, Sarah Hall, Jerry Smith, Megan Sanders, Barbara Kleist, Alicia Zhang, and Quinn Oteman. “Direct Support Workforce and COVID-19 National Survey Report: 24-Month Follow-Up.” University of Minnesota: Research and Training Center on Community Living: Institute on Community Integration, September 2022. https://publications.ici.umn.edu/community-living/covid19-survey/overview.