February 7, 2023
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Today, OPWDD is pleased to announce the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for development of a statewide direct support professional marketing and recruitment campaign. As OPWDD and our non-profit service provider partners face ongoing staffing challenges, and New Yorkers with developmental disabilities feel the impact, OPWDD is mounting several initiatives to reverse the trend and ensure a strong, stable and high-quality workforce.
The competitive opportunity announced today will identify an experienced and qualified party to bring current market research to bear on our service system’s staffing challenges and develop an effective, attractive and recognizable statewide recruitment campaign. The campaign goals will be twofold – to promote the field of direct care for people with developmental disabilities as a rewarding and vital profession and to help all of New York’s developmental disabilities service providers to recruit quality candidates for their positions.
In today’s market, it is essential we reach new candidate pools with the information they need to understand the value of the OPWDD mission and the tremendous opportunity it presents for them to have a successful and fulfilling career. The statewide campaign will spotlight the kinds of programs and positions available within our service system and attract workers from new places in effective new ways.
I am excited about this opportunity, and I look forward to watching New Yorkers from Long Island to Buffalo learn about and respond to opportunities in what we know is a truly fulfilling field of work. As we advance statewide educational and training programs, establish pathways for DSPs to attain recognized credentials and continue to advocate for wages that reflect the value of the work, the recruitment and marketing campaign will provide marketing materials and a recognizable online hub to connect eager and interested people – the mission-focused people we need - to providers of supports and services.
The interactive website established as part of this marketing campaign will provide a central location where all service providers across the state can promote their organizations and employment opportunities free of charge. This one-stop website will allow job candidates to learn about the value and benefits of direct support employment and identify potential employers they can contact directly to learn about employment opportunities.
This initiative is one of many projects we have underway to strengthen our service system’s workforce. Our workforce initiatives, in turn, are a central part of OPWDD’s broad effort to enhance, improve and transform key aspects of the OPWDD service system as described in our 2023-2027 Strategic Plan. I hope you will read about our strategic goals and objectives, and I encourage you to follow our progress on all of these efforts and dialogue with us as together we work to make these important goals a reality for New Yorkers with developmental disabilities.
Sincerely,
Kerri E. Neifeld Commissioner