Whereas direct care workers, including direct support professionals, personal assistants, personal attendants, in-home support workers, and paraprofessionals, are key to providing publicly funded, long-term support and services for millions of individuals with disabilities; Whereas direct support professionals provide essential services that ensure that all individuals with disabilities are— (1) included as a valued part of the communities in which those individuals live; (2) supported at home, at work, and in the communities of the United States; and (3) empowered to live with the dignity that all people of the United States deserve; Whereas, by fostering connections between individuals with disabilities and their families, friends, and communities, direct support professionals ensure that individuals with disabilities thrive, thereby avoiding more costly institutional care; Whereas direct support professionals build close, respectful, and trusting relationships with individuals with disabilities and provide a broad range of personalized support to those individuals, including— (1) helping individuals make person-centered choices; (2) assisting with personal care, meal preparation, medication management, and other aspects of daily living; (3) assisting individuals in accessing the community and securing competitive, integrated employment; (4) providing transportation to school, work, religious, and recreational activities; (5) helping with general daily affairs, such as assisting with financial matters, medical appointments, and personal interests; and (6) assisting individuals in the transition from isolated or congregate settings or services to living in the communities of their choice; Whereas there is a critical and increasing shortage of direct support professionals throughout the United States, a crisis that was exacerbated by the COVID–19 pandemic, bringing uncertainty and risk to individuals with disabilities