A bill to require the Office of Management and Budget to consider revising the Standard Occupational Classification system to establish a separate code for direct support professionals, and for other purposes.

Legislative bill overview

S 3211 directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to evaluate whether direct support professionals—workers who provide personal care and assistance to individuals with disabilities or elderly populations—should receive their own occupational classification code rather than being grouped with other healthcare or service workers. Currently, these workers are typically classified under broader categories that may not accurately reflect their specific role, skills, or labor market dynamics.

Why is this important

Direct support professionals represent a significant and growing workforce in the disability services and long-term care sectors. Creating a separate occupational code would improve data collection on this workforce, potentially leading to better workforce planning, wage tracking, targeted training initiatives, and policy decisions affecting millions of Americans who rely on these services. Accurate classification could also help identify staffing shortages and inform discussions about compensation and working conditions in this sector.

Potential points of contention

• Implementation costs and timeline: OMB revision of occupational classification systems requires extensive coordination with federal agencies, employers, and statistical agencies—a time-consuming and resource-intensive process with unclear funding
• Scope definition: Determining exactly which workers qualify as "direct support professionals" versus other healthcare or service classifications could be contentious, as roles vary significantly across states and service settings
• Whether separate coding addresses root issues: Some may argue this is a procedural fix that doesn't directly address underlying workforce challenges like low wages, high turnover, or lack of benefits that plague the direct support profession