Direct support professionals, or DSPs, are trained to care for and assist people with developmental disabilities. The New York Office for People with Developmental Disabilities partnered with SUNY last year to bring a free microcredential program to select campuses across the state. Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced a $32 million investment to expand the program to six additional campuses.
Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie celebrated the news with a recognition ceremony for its first cohort of DSP students. DCC President Peter Grant Jordan says 15 students participated in the program last fall, and more than 170 are taking DSP courses this semester. The three-tiered program allows students to earn up to three certifications from the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals. For each tier they complete, students get a $750 bonus.
OPWDD Commissioner Kerri Neifeld estimates the program’s expansion will educate roughly 6,000 current and future DSPs by 2030. She hopes it will help New York not only grow its workforce, but retain and upskill employees.
“People like to know they’re going to be supported by their employer, to excel at their job, to feel confident in their ability to do their job," says Neifeld. "And so the opportunity to do a credential like this helps people know that they’re going to be supported in that way.”
That was the case for Ellen Mayer, who made the switch to being a DSP at age 57 in 2016 after working for more than 20 years as a paralegal. Mayer got some initial training through The Arc of Orange County and worked in the field for years before earning her DSP certificate at DCC. She says she became a DSP because she was hoping to connect with people after the deaths of her husband and father.
“I was looking for people to care for, to be honest, instead of being a paralegal. And I attended an open house at ARC and I just fell in love with the program and the people," says Mayer. "It’s so much more than just taking care of people's physical needs. Some of them are nonverbal, some of them have behaviors – it’s reaching beyond that to touch the human being underneath.”
The microcredential does not equal a college degree, but the up to 27 academic credits students earn can be put toward an associate’s, bachelor’s, or master’s degree down the line. That was part of the appeal for Florence Oyuko, who enrolled in the program after moving to the U.S. from Kenya. Oyuko says she initially wanted to be a teacher, but her training in Kenya did not certify her to teach in New York. She did have experience working with special education students, though, and thought being a DSP could be a good step forward.
She says the DCC classes ended up opening her eyes to a range of career possibilities, from nursing and psychology to social work.
“For me, I’m on DSP-II now. Tomorrow – because of this program, I’ve been able to learn that I can go to school and do well – I’m starting my Master’s program," Oyuko smiles.
DCC President Jordan and SUNY Chancellor John King both hope the program will do for other students exactly what it did for Okuyo, and encourage them to continue their education. King says SUNY saw an enrollment increase across the system for the first time in a decade last fall. The system currently offers more than 600 microcredentials, and King hopes to add more to the lineup.
“Folks who are currently working, students can take these microcredentials and put them immediately to use with employer partners, which is fantastic, and we want to grow that," says King.
The program’s expansion will bring the microcredential to SUNY Oneonta, Orange County Community College, North Country Community College, Farmingdale State College, Jamestown Community College, and SUNY Canton. King expects the program to launch at these campuses next fall.
