Researching Provider Solutions in Florida - Environmental Scan

The environmental scan seeks to address a single research question: What strategies and ideas described in the peer-reviewed literature and available on relevant websites can help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families recruit and retain direct care workers?

We searched electronic databases for peer-reviewed journal articles and relevant websites for web-based documents. The environmental scan used a prespecified, multistep process to develop search terms, discover relevant articles, and identify strategies that address the research question.

The search results contained several strategies for attracting and retaining direct care support for people with disabilities. We grouped the strategies into three broad themes: improving compensation, increasing workforce capacity supports, and promoting occupational reform.

The report concludes with a discussion of the study’s implications for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, implications for policymakers, and opportunities for additional research.