Your Support Makes Program Possible
Jubilee’s 250 direct support professionals (DSPs) bring our mission to life though their hands-on support for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. To recruit and retain a talented and dedicated workforce in this challenging labor market our staff need to know that they are as valued as the people Jubilee supports.
We are now taking the next big step with our new One Job pilot program. This program ensures that staff who commit to work only at Jubilee will earn a living wage and benefits. Employees in the program are guaranteed 55 hours of work each week and will earn at least $52,000 a year, matching the starting salary of a teacher in the county.
“During the pandemic, we learned that many of our staff worked multiple jobs to make ends meet. People were working 60 to 100 hours a week at two or more jobs just to get by. Their ability to fully commit at either job was challenging because of stress and exhaustion,” said Steve Keener, Jubilee Executive Director. “What initially began as an undertaking to reduce the spread of COVID-19 became an intentional effort to create a more just organization.”
The pilot is underway, with 16 DSPs now participating, and enthusiasm high for increased participation in the future. Everyone in the program must complete the DSP II professional development training program. Partner agencies, including SEEC and JFGH, are launching similar intentional overtime programs. Data from all participating agencies will be analyzed by researchers at the University of Minnesota to measure outcomes.
Our goal is for the One Job program to benefit staff and the people we support. Higher morale, increased engagement and less stress translates to staff longevity, which is central to the lives of the people we support. There are clear benefits to investing in our staff: retention among Jubilee staff who have completed the DSP II program is a sky-high 91 percent.
We also aim for the program to benefit the long-term fiscal health of the organization by reducing overhead costs. In the short-term, per each participating DSP the program will cost an additional $8,000 and rising as wages increase annually. This payment gap is not covered by reimbursements from the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Administration. A grant from the Jerome S. and Grace H. Murray Foundation and contributions from Jubilee’s Champions of Inclusion and other donors make this program possible.
“This program has the potential to be an innovative model not only for Jubilee, but for frontline workers in all industries,” said Keener. “It’s a beautiful thing when our justice, service, and stewardship goals align.”
Read our feature on Jubilee Direct Support Professional Olalekan (Sho) Shobowale and why he chose the One Job program in our new Spring 2022 Connections newsletter! “I thought about how the program could reduce my stress, and that I could make a living working only one job. Jubilee is my number one family in Maryland. So, I decided to go for it. I’m glad I did. Now I’m more able to focus on the people I support and there are less distractions on my time.”