Employment and Community First CHOICES Workforce QuILTSS Initiative Survey 2019: Year Two Report

Organizations were asked to respond to questions about the number of hours DSPs worked per week and the number of hours of overtime DSPs are working on average.  Overtime is significant cost in the long-term services and support system.  Many DSPs rely on overtime to earn a livable wage. In a study of DSPs in Minnesota, 68% of DSPs reported that they would work more hours or overtime if they were available at their primary employer (Hewitt, Pettingell, & Kramme, 2019). Nearly 30% of DSPs in that survey worked a second job. Depending on settings (e.g., residential) where services are provided, high vacancy rates of DSPs may necessitate that DSPs work overtime hours. Reporting the number of hours DSPs work per week allows organizations to look at labor costs, staffing patterns, and the number of part-time and full-time staff an organization employs.  Overtime data provides organizations with important information that can be used to calculate the cost of turnover.

DSP Work Hours

Organizations reported the average number of hours, including overtime, that DSPs worked per week.  Only those organizations that could differentiate between part-time and full-time DSPs provided the average number of hours for both part-time and full-time DSPs.  The organizations who could not differentiate between part-time and full-time DSPs provided the average number of hours for all of their DSPs combined.  The average number of hours DSPs worked per week is summarized in Table 4.

Work Hours	State		East		Middle		West
	N	Average	N	Average	N	Average	N	Average
All DSPs	69	40	20	43	29	41	20	35
Part-Time	36	26	8	28	17	27	11	23
Full-Time	39	45	10	44	19	47	10	44

N = The number of organizations answering each question.

Average = The average number of hours worked by DSPs weekly.

Throughout the state, DSPs in organizations who could not differentiate between part-time and full-time employees worked an average of 40 (range 15 to 84) hours per week.  For organizations who could differentiate between part-time and full-time employees, part-time DSPs worked an average of 26 (range 8 to 40) hours per week and full-time DSPs worked an average of 45 (range 30 to 80) hours per week. 

• In the East region, DSPs in organizations who could not differentiate between part-time and full-time employees worked an average of 43 (range 18 to 84) hours per week. For organizations who could differentiate between part-time and full-time employees, part-time DSPs worked an average of 28 (range 15 to 40) hours per week and full-time DSPs worked an average of 44 (range 30 to 65) hours per week. 
• In the Middle region, DSPs in organizations who could not differentiate between part-time and full-time employees worked an average of 41 (range 20 to 75) hours per week. For organizations who could differentiate between part-time and full-time employees, part-time DSPs worked an average of 27 (range 15 to 38) hours per week and full-time DSPs worked an average of 47 (range 30 to 75) hours per week. 
• In the West region, DSPs in organizations who could not differentiate between part-time and full-time employees worked an average of 35 (range 15 to 57) hours per week. For organizations who could differentiate between part-time and full-time employees, part-time DSPs worked an average of 23 (range 8 to 33) hours per week and full-time DSPs worked an average of 44 (range 35 to 83) hours per week. 

DSP Overtime Hours

Organizations reported on overtime hours paid to DSPs in the last 30 days (see Figure 9).  Across the state, the average number of overtime hours that organizations paid out to DSPs in the last 30 days was 2,746 (range 0 to 23,000).  The total number of overtime hours paid out in the last 30 days from 68 organizations was 186,739.  In the East, the average number of overtime hours paid out was 2,253 (range 0 to 11,072) with a total of 40,567 overtime hours paid to DSPs.  In the Middle, the average number of overtime hours paid out was 2,512 (range 0 to 23,000) with a total of 75,362 overtime hours paid to DSPs.  In the West, the average number of overtime hours paid out was 2,540 (range 0 to 21,000) with a total of 70,810 overtime hours paid to DSPs.