The Institute on Community Integration, the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals, and ANCOR today announced that Via of the Lehigh Valley and Person Centered Care Services will receive the 2026 Moving Mountains Award for innovative approaches to strengthening the direct support professional (DSP) workforce.

Pennsylvania-based Via of the Lehigh Valley is being recognized for its DSP Engagement: Growing Careers at Via initiative, which focuses on reducing DSP turnover, building a credentialed professional workforce, and creating a visible, wage-incentivized career ladder that rewards growth and longevity. The initiative also emphasizes employee engagement, recognition, advocacy, and flexible training to prepare DSPs to provide person-centered, community-integrated support.

New York-based Person Centered Care Services is being recognized for its Direct Support Professional Career Ladder Program, which provides DSPs with formal training, nationally recognized credentials, structured career pathways, and opportunities for professional advancement. The program also uses competitive pay and stipends to support retention and provides competency-based training in person-centered care, crisis intervention, and advocacy.

“These organizations are demonstrating how investments in training, credentialing, career advancement, and DSP engagement can strengthen the direct support workforce and, ultimately, improve the quality of support people with disabilities receive,” said Amy Hewitt, director of the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration. Via of the Lehigh Valley and Person Centered Care Services are creating meaningful pathways for DSPs to build their skills, advance their careers, and see direct support as the profession it is. By sharing what they are learning with colleagues across the field, they have the potential to influence thousands more DSPs and the people they support.”

Representatives of Via of the Lehigh Valley and Person Centered Care Services will accept the awards at the opening plenary of the Reimagining Quality conference in Baltimore. The conference runs Oct. 4-6.

Person Centered Care Services’ career ladder program is designed to professionalize the DSP role while giving employees clear opportunities to develop skills, earn credentials, and advance within the organization and the field. The program connects professional development with financial incentives and a structured pathway for career growth.

“Direct support professionals are the foundation of our field, and they deserve to be recognized not only for the critical work they do today, but for their potential to grow and lead tomorrow,” said Alexa Donnelly, deputy executive director of Person Centered Care Services. “At PCCS, our Career Ladder is about creating real pathways for DSPs to build skills, earn meaningful credentials, increase their earning potential, and see a future for themselves in this profession. Receiving the Moving Mountains Award is an incredible recognition of our team’s commitment to investing in the people who make person-centered support possible every day.”

Via’s DSP Engagement: Growing Careers at Via initiative takes a comprehensive approach to workforce development, combining credentialing, career advancement, wage incentives, training, recognition, and opportunities for DSPs to advocate for their profession. The initiative’s goal is to make Via an employer of choice while building a stable, professional workforce.

“We are honored to receive the 2026 Moving Mountains Award,” said Lisa Walkiewicz, president and CEO of Via of the Lehigh Valley. “This recognition belongs to our direct support professionals, whose skill and dedication change lives every day.  Growing Careers at Via was born out of a workforce challenge. And it affirmed what we’ve seen firsthand: when you treat direct support as a profession with national credentials, a clear career ladder, wage incentives, and a genuine voice for DSPs, people build lasting careers. In turn, the individuals they support receive more consistent, person-centered, community-integrated care. When our DSPs grow, the people they support thrive.”

The Moving Mountains Award recognizes disability service providers that are developing innovative approaches to strengthen the direct support workforce and improve the quality of support for people with disabilities.

“Via of the Lehigh Valley and Person Centered Care Services are showing what it looks like to invest in DSPs not simply as employees, but as professionals with opportunities to learn, grow, and build careers,” Hewitt said. “We are pleased to recognize their leadership and look forward to hearing how their approaches are strengthening the DSP workforce and creating better futures for the people they support.”