The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com
Stephanie Hatcher is a member of the Direct Care and Support Professional Advisory Council. She has worked in the field of developmental disabilities, intellectual disabilities and autism for 31 years in day programs and residential care facilities, and now trains other direct support professionals.
Every person who reads this column will one day need or provide direct care, if they haven’t already. But many people don’t know how hard it is to find and afford care when you need it, and how hard it can be on families when you can’t.
I’ve provided support to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities for more than 30 years, and now I train others in the profession. I know how deeply committed direct care professionals are to the individuals they support. But I also know how low compensation for such challenging work causes so many of us to burn out and leave the profession. It’s a tragic situation, and it affects all of us.
For my first eight years as a direct support professional, I worked two full-time jobs to pay my bills. I loved what I was doing, and I still do. But it affected my personal and financial life terribly. It’s the same for the people I’m training now, and it’s not sustainable.
Without good pay, most people are going to leave for a better-paying job. I see people in other fields making far more than I do. One of my sisters is a physical therapist, and she makes $52,000 more than I do. My other sister is a teacher, and she makes $30,000 more. I think that shows how our society undervalues not only the work we do but the people we support. But we are looking after your mother and your grandmother. What do we think they’re worth?
A recent report from the Maine Center for Economic Policy found in wage data what I’ve seen over my decades of experience. As of May 2022, direct care workers were paid $1.92 less per hour than people in other jobs with similar entry-level training. We’re paid less than cooks, janitors and secretaries, to name just a few. I’m not putting myself above anyone else, but I know that for how challenging this work is, our compensation isn’t going to cut it.
This report found we need another 2,300 direct care workers in Maine. That doesn’t even count the thousands of people who leave the field every year. This gap has huge impacts across our economy, as more people leave the labor force, cut down their hours, or are distracted and burnt out at work because they have the responsibility to care for a loved one.
To attract and keep workers, the state must set a competitive, livable wage. Workers need health and retirement benefits so they can take care of themselves while they care for others. And once people are in the door, they must feel recognized for their work and valued for their experience.
I’m a member of the Direct Care and Support Professional Advisory Council — a group of professionals raising their collective voice to inform policy decisions on issues related to direct care work in Maine — which means I communicate with countless others in the field who tell us the same thing: we need better pay and respect to survive in this field.
Individuals with intellectual disabilities will always need care and support. As the state’s population ages, there will be more people needing care, so this problem is only going to get worse. Fundamentally, how we value direct care workers is about protecting the health of Maine’s people and our economy. But right now, the challenges direct care professionals face make that extremely difficult to achieve.
My mom also worked in this field. When I started, she tried to talk me out of it. She told me I’d never make a livable wage. Sadly, she was right. But people don’t get into this line of work for the money. We do it because we want to care for people. But we can’t go on like this forever. If we want everyone to have the chance to live with dignity no matter what life throws at them, we need to listen to what direct care workers are saying.
