Direct support professional job description template: setting, state training, background studies and overnight shifts

A direct support professional (DSP) job description should tell a candidate where they will work, whom they will support, which shifts they will cover, what the state and program require before they can work alone, and what the job pays. As of October 2026 there is no national DSP license: training rules come from the state and the program, background checks often run through a state agency, and the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) offers a voluntary certification. DSPs are hourly, nonexempt workers, so overtime and overnight sleep-time rules belong in the posting too.

Below are the DSP settings, a copy-ready template, the training, background and wage lines with sources, screening questions and scorecard rows, and common mistakes. For the first call, use the direct support professional screening questions. For older-adult home care, the caregiver and home health aide templates fit better.

Name the seat: which DSP job is it?

Then settle the numbers with the program manager: how many people are supported per shift and how many staff are on, the shift times, whether overnights are awake shifts, how much driving there is and in whose vehicle, and how many hours of paid training come before the first solo shift. Those answers decide who applies and who stays.

The direct support professional job description template

Direct Support Professional — [Group Home / Supported Living /
Day Program / Supported Employment], [Full-Time / Part-Time]
[Provider], [program location or area served, city, state]
Pay: $[min]–$[max] per hour, plus [overnight / weekend
differential $N, mileage $N per mile, bonus with conditions].
[Benefits summary, if required.] Nonexempt (paid overtime).

SUMMARY
You will support [N] adults with intellectual and developmental
disabilities in [setting] to live the lives they choose: at home,
at work and in the community. You will work [shift times, days],
with [N] other staff on shift, and report to [house manager /
program coordinator]. Overnights are [awake shifts / not part of
this role].

WHAT YOU WILL DO
- Follow each person's support plan and help them work toward
  their own goals.
- Assist with personal care, meals, household tasks and
  appointments, encouraging people to do what they can themselves.
- [Pass medications after the state-required training.]
- Support people in the community: outings, work, shopping,
  visits [and drive them in a (company / own) vehicle].
- Follow behavior support plans and de-escalation steps you are
  trained in.
- Write shift notes and incident reports in [system] before the
  end of each shift.
- Report suspected abuse, neglect and incidents as state law and
  our policy require.

YOU MUST HAVE
- [High school diploma or equivalent, if the program requires it.]
- Ability to complete [state] training: [e.g. California DSP
  Training Year 1 within ...] and our orientation, CPR and first
  aid.
- A cleared [state background study / background check] before
  working without direct supervision.
- [Valid driver's license and insurance, if driving.]
- Ability to assist with transfers, personal care and standing
  or walking for most of the shift, with or without reasonable
  accommodation.

NICE TO HAVE
- DSP or caregiving experience; NADSP certification.
- [Language] for the people we support who speak it.
If you meet the must-haves and none of these, please apply.

WE PROVIDE
[Paid training, CPR and first aid, medication training, mileage,
a mentor for your first shifts.]

[EEO STATEMENT]
To request an adjustment to apply or interview, contact [contact].

State training, background studies, certification and classification

What the work is. BLS and O*NET do not list direct support professionals as a separate occupation. The closest O*NET occupation, personal care aides (31-1122.00), describes help for people with disabilities or illness with daily living tasks in their home, at work, in the community or at a daytime facility. DSP work adds teaching, community inclusion and following an individual support plan, so write the duties from your program's plans, not a generic aide list.

State training: an example. California's Department of Developmental Services says Direct Support Professional Training is mandatory for all DSPs working in licensed community care facilities vendored by regional centers: two 35-hour segments completed in successive years, 70 hours in all, or a passed challenge test for each segment; it is free to DSPs in their first or second year at a vendored facility (California DDS). Other states set their own hours and topics, often by program type, so name your state's requirement and say that you pay for it.

Background studies: an example. In Minnesota, the subject of a background study may not do work that requires the study until the Department of Human Services issues a notice that the person is not disqualified, or that more time is needed; a "more time" notice says whether continuous direct supervision is required until the study is complete (Minn. Stat. 245C.13). Write the start condition your state uses. A check run through a consumer reporting agency follows the steps in the FCRA background check process.

Certification. NADSP's certification has three levels earned with e-badges: DSP-I (15 e-badges, including a 50-hour accredited education badge), DSP-II (30, including a 100-hour badge) and DSP-III (50); it is renewed every two years with at least 20 hours of training (NADSP). It is not a license. List it as a plus, and say if it raises pay.

Nonexempt, with overnight rules. DSPs are hourly workers who do not meet the exemption duties tests, so treat the role as nonexempt. The Department of Labor says third-party employers of direct care workers, such as home care agencies, may not claim the companionship services exemption and must pay minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime after 40 hours (DOL Fact Sheet 79A). An employee on duty for less than 24 hours is working even when permitted to sleep (29 CFR 785.21); only for duty of 24 hours or more may up to 8 hours of sleep be excluded by agreement, with adequate sleeping facilities, and interruptions count as work (29 CFR 785.22). Travel between job sites during the workday is also hours worked (29 CFR 785.38), which matters for DSPs who drive between homes.

Physical requirements. Describe the essential tasks: assisting with transfers using the equipment provided, personal care, standing and walking for much of a shift, driving if the role needs it. Ask every candidate the same way whether they can do them with or without accommodation, and keep medical questions until after an offer (pre-employment medical exams under the ADA).

Pay. Because BLS has no DSP occupation, there is no BLS median for the title. For a national reference point only, the closest BLS Handbook profile, home health and personal care aides, had a national median wage of $35,800 a year in May 2025 (BLS, last modified August 27, 2026). Post your own hourly range and each differential separately and check pay transparency laws by state.

From must-haves to screening questions and scorecard rows

The full first call, with a 12-minute flow, is in the DSP screening questions. Ask the physical-task question the same way for every candidate, with or without accommodation. If the provider also runs ABA services, the behavior technician job description template covers the RBT seat.

Common mistakes in direct support professional job descriptions

A caregiver posting with a DSP title

A list of chores misses the point of the job, which is supporting a person's own choices and goals. Put the support plan, teaching and community time in the duties.

Overnights left vague

"Must be flexible" hides awake overnights. Say which shifts are open, whether overnights are awake, and how they are paid.

No start condition for the background check

A candidate who did not expect the study may take another job while waiting. Say what must clear before the first unsupervised shift and roughly how long it takes.

Training cost unclear

Say that state-required training, CPR and medication training are paid and provided, if they are.

Lifting numbers instead of tasks

"Lift 50 pounds" says less than "assist with transfers using a mechanical lift and a second staff member." Describe the task and the equipment.

Before you publish

• Setting, people supported, staffing per shift and shift times are in the summary.
• State training and the background check start condition are named, with who pays.
• Overnights, driving and mileage are stated and paid under the hours-worked rules.
• Physical tasks are described with equipment and an accommodation line.
• The hourly range, each differential, the EEO statement and an accommodation contact close the posting.