This webinar is jointly hosted by AAIDD and the AAIDD Direct Support Professional Interest Network

Presenter: Amy Hewitt, PhD, FAAIDD, University of Minnesota

Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) provide long term services and supports to people with intellectual disabilities in a wide variety of settings – individual/family homes, community programs, worksites, group homes, and larger facilities. These workers have many critically important roles.  Throughout the pandemic they have risked their lives to deliver needed supports to people and often were put in the situation of potentially infecting their own families due to their work. Despite their importance, in most states this group of employees is not clearly identified as essential workers. This webinar will share new research findings from the University of Minnesota’s Research and Training Center on Community Living regarding a 6 month follow up study on the effects of COVID-19 on this important workforce and strategies that are helpful to best supporting them. Implications of the findings of this longitudinal study will be shared and discussed by participants.