Recognition, Advocacy, and Opportunity

posted by Maghan Bowman on Monday, October 26, 2026

This September, EPI joined organizations across the country in celebrating Direct Support Professional (DSP) Recognition Week, recognizing the dedicated professionals who help people with disabilities live, work, and grow in their communities.

Throughout the week, we hosted two drive-through breakfast events and a Totally Rolled Ice Cream truck social to thank our team for their commitment and compassion. Members of our Board of Directors, Agency Leadership Team, and Area Residential Directors volunteered serving meals and connecting with staff as a small way of expressing our gratitude.

While the celebrations were meaningful, they also served as a reminder that recognition is only one part of supporting this profession.

DSPs do far more than provide assistance. They build relationships, promote independence, teach new skills, encourage community inclusion, and help people achieve goals both big and small.

Yet across the country, providers continue to face workforce challenges that make it difficult to recruit and retain the professionals needed to provide these services.

That is why advocacy remains so important.

This year, we were encouraged to see the Recognizing Role of Direct Support Professionals Act receive unanimous committee support in Congress, moving one step closer to creating a national Standard Occupational Classification for DSPs. While this may sound technical, it represents an important step toward improving workforce data, increasing recognition, and informing future policy decisions that impact the direct support profession.
 

At the same time, conversations about Medicaid, disability rights, and community integration continue to unfold nationally.

Recent discussions have highlighted concerns about policies and viewpoints that could weaken long-standing protections supporting people with disabilities living and participating fully in their communities.

For decades, disability advocates, providers, families, and people with disabilities have worked together to move away from segregation and toward inclusion. Those efforts have helped create opportunities for people to live, work, learn, volunteer, and build meaningful connections within their communities.

Today, that work continues.

EPI recently joined providers and advocates from across the country in Washington, D.C., to share the importance of strong Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS), a stable direct support workforce, and policies that protect opportunities for people with disabilities. Advocacy is most effective when organizations come together around a common purpose, and we are proud to work alongside partners at the local, state, and national levels to strengthen services for future generations.

Because behind every policy discussion is a person. Behind every budget decision is a family. And behind every service is an opportunity for someone to live the life they choose.

As we look ahead, we remain committed to celebrating the professionals who make community living possible while advocating for the services, rights, and opportunities that help people thrive.

Together, through awareness, collaboration, and advocacy, we can help ensure all people are recognized, valued, and supported within their communities.