Connecticut Launches $3.7 Million SPARK-CT Pilot to Train 30 Disability Employment Support Workers
Updated
Updated · Hartford Courant · Sep 13
Connecticut Launches $3.7 Million SPARK-CT Pilot to Train 30 Disability Employment Support Workers
1 articles · Updated · Hartford Courant · Sep 13
Summary
$3.7 million will fund Connecticut’s 10-month SPARK-CT pilot, a paid training program that has begun onboarding about 30 trainees to become direct employment support professionals.
The Bureau of Rehabilitation Services created the program to ease a persistent staffing shortage at community rehabilitation providers, where DSP vacancy rates in Connecticut run about 18% to 23%.
Participants will split time between field placements and BRS instruction, earn roughly $32,000 during the program, and can collect up to $2,300 in bonuses tied to completion and certification.
The pilot targets a workforce bottleneck that affects disability employment outcomes in a state where unemployment for workers with disabilities was 9.7% in 2023 versus 4.1% for others.
Officials and providers say the cohort could help fill immediate openings and reduce waiting lists, though advocates note it does not solve the broader problem of low DSP pay.