Earlier this month, the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (PCPID) delivered its report titled “Advancing Independence and Community Integration for All: Supporting Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities Through High-Quality Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS),” to President Biden. NADSP CEO and President Joe Macbeth and Senior Policy Advisor, Nicole Jorwic are members of the committee, and together along with disability advocate Tia Nelis, co-chaired the subcommittee on the workforce. 

The report took a broad look at all of the factors that need to be addressed to improve access to Home & Community Based Services (HCBS), including workforce, community living and employment, housing, technology and communication access, among other issues. In the workforce pieces of the report, the need for higher wages, training and professionalization of the direct support professionals were named as top priorities, and directly tied to people with disabilities accessing services.

For more than 50 years, the PCPID has advised the president of the United States and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on policies that impact people with I/DD. The independent committee includes 20 citizen members appointed by the president, along with 13 federal members. 

NADSP’s Nicole Jorwic breaks down the report in this short video:  

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The full report and an easy-read fact sheet can be found on the ACL PCPID page, along with prior PCPID reports and materials from the committee’s meetings.