17 years or older
Yes. After you are hired there are agency-required trainings along with training modules through the Community Staff Training Program. This training is part of your employment and is provided at no cost to you.
Not necessarily; however, if you have previous experience or training working with individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities, you may earn a higher wage rate to start.
Each provider/agency is a private company with its own pay scale. The starting wage as of October 2022 was $14.00 - $20.00 per hour.
You can express a preference to work with a specific population such as children or adults, but that might limit your hours of work. If you are more flexible to work with any population, there would be more hours and opportunities available.
Because many clients need 24-hour assistance, many DSPs do not work only 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There are opportunities for flexible shifts that would work well for a working parent who would like to work around schoolchildren’s schedules or a college student who would like to work around class schedules.
This will depend on your particular situation. You can discuss this with your potential employer at the time of your application.