Episode 23 · Frontline Voices · July 21, 2026
The DSP Shortage Nobody Solved
Tanya Reyes — Direct Support Professional & Trainer, Bridgewater Community Living
Executive Summary
Direct support professionals hold the community care system together and leave it at rates above 45% a year. Tanya Reyes breaks down where the losses actually happen, why wage increases alone stopped moving retention, and what a serious onboarding program looks like when it's designed by people who do the work.
Key Takeaways
- 01Most DSP turnover happens inside the first 90 days, before wage becomes the deciding factor.
- 02Shadowing without structure teaches new hires that nobody is accountable for their success.
- 03Scheduling predictability outperformed a $1.50/hour raise in her agency's retention data.
- 04Career ladders must be visible on day one, not mentioned at the annual review.
- 05DSPs should be in the room when technology is selected for their workflow.
YEM's Insider Take
We call it a workforce shortage because that framing lets systems off the hook. Nothing is short. People arrive and then we lose them. That's a retention failure and it's an operations problem with an operations solution.
Transcript
TANYA: People assume the hardest part of the job is the care. It isn't. The hardest part is walking into a house on your second shift and realizing nobody told you what to do if something goes wrong.
The Insider Question