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QUESTION: Do any other member organizations work with temp agencies to hire DSPs? Our organization is looking in the Greenfield area. A few years back we attempted to partner with a healthcare staffing agency to cover shifts in our residential services in the Indianapolis area. The training they receive from the staffing agency is rather limited, so we offered a 1-day supplemental training (at our expense) to provide Core A and some additional BDDS required trainings, plus CPR/First Aid on an alternate day(which many of the temps surprisingly did not already have). While the temps who came to the training seemed to be good candidates, we didn't have much luck post-training. Some never worked a single shift, and others only picked up a few shifts for a month or so. We tried this with two rounds of temps (approx. 7 in each group), but none of the temps continued working for more than a month, so we ultimately decided it was not worth pursuing. One other lesson learned - the temps were being paid at an hourly rate sometimes $2-3 more per hour than our DSP's. When the temps came to work a shift, our DSPs were hearing about the higher hourly rates and it created some morale issues. *** We've used Accessible Staffing for emergency help for several years. They are located in Indianapolis but serve a wide area. The biggest issue is dependability. They are often short on staff like the rest of us. I think we get about a 50% show rate. It can get pretty expensive, too. *** We have considered it but decided against for a couple of reasons: 1. Cost and 2.They wanted to pay the temps higher wages than our employees that would have caused resentment and possible turnover. This information is a compilation of suggestions, ideas, and opinions shared by INARF Members in response to the featured question. This information should not be considered official interpretation or guidance of State or Federal Policy. Additionally, statements within this document do not necessarily reflect an official position or opinion of INARF.
A few years back we attempted to partner with a healthcare staffing agency to cover shifts in our residential services in the Indianapolis area. The training they receive from the staffing agency is rather limited, so we offered a 1-day supplemental training (at our expense) to provide Core A and some additional BDDS required trainings, plus CPR/First Aid on an alternate day(which many of the temps surprisingly did not already have). While the temps who came to the training seemed to be good candidates, we didn't have much luck post-training. Some never worked a single shift, and others only picked up a few shifts for a month or so. We tried this with two rounds of temps (approx. 7 in each group), but none of the temps continued working for more than a month, so we ultimately decided it was not worth pursuing. One other lesson learned - the temps were being paid at an hourly rate sometimes $2-3 more per hour than our DSP's. When the temps came to work a shift, our DSPs were hearing about the higher hourly rates and it created some morale issues.
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We've used Accessible Staffing for emergency help for several years. They are located in Indianapolis but serve a wide area. The biggest issue is dependability. They are often short on staff like the rest of us. I think we get about a 50% show rate. It can get pretty expensive, too.
We have considered it but decided against for a couple of reasons: 1. Cost and 2.They wanted to pay the temps higher wages than our employees that would have caused resentment and possible turnover.