Direct Support Professional (DSP) Staffing Agency
A direct support professional (DSP) staffing agency recruits, screens, and clears DSPs for IDD providers, group homes, residential programs, and community-based services. Focused Staffing Group's Focused Behavioral division staffs DSPs across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Washington DC, and New York, with clearances completed before you interview and temp-to-hire at no cost.
- Wks
- to staff a client's new nursing and direct-support team (Dunwoody Village)
- 1
- client per region — your DSP pipeline stays yours
- $0
- conversion fee when a DSP joins your payroll
- Fri
- weekly payday, direct deposit or Cash App — retention by design
Key takeaways
- A DSP staffing agency recruits, screens, clears, and places direct support professionals for shifts, contract assignments, temp-to-hire, or permanent roles.
- Pennsylvania requires 24 hours of annual training for DSPs in licensed community homes and ODP-funded services, plus criminal history checks that cover temporary staff.
- New Jersey DDD-funded DSPs cannot work in the presence of the people served until fingerprint clearance arrives, and must clear the Central Registry.
- Focused Behavioral completes clearances before shortlisting, works with one client per region, and converts temp-to-hire DSPs at no cost.
Roles we help fill
- DSPs
- Residential aides
- Direct care staff
- Community support staff
- Behavioral support staff
- Program aides
What a DSP staffing agency does
A DSP staffing agency finds direct support professionals, verifies their background clearances, health documentation, and training, and places them with the providers that need coverage — for single shifts, long-term contract assignments, temp-to-hire evaluations, or permanent hires. The good ones also screen for what a résumé does not show: reliability on overnight and weekend shifts, medication-administration readiness, and documentation habits that hold up in a licensing review.
Focused Behavioral works with IDD/DD providers, residential programs, group homes, and community-based care organizations, including Keystone Human Services and Merakey. We build each client a pipeline we never share with a competing provider in its region, and our professionals are paid weekly and pick up or swap shifts through a mobile app — the practical mechanics that keep a direct-care pool reliable.
What a DSP actually does on a shift
A direct support professional's shift covers the whole of someone's day. That means personal care and daily-living support — meals, hygiene, mobility — plus medication administration where the DSP is certified for it, transportation to appointments and jobs, and community outings that are the difference between living in a neighborhood and being stored near one. It also means the paperwork that keeps a program compliant: progress notes against each person's individual support plan, and incident reports written the day something happens, not the day after.
Providers deploy DSPs across residential group homes, supported and independent living, day programs, in-home supports, and community-based services — often on overnight, weekend, and holiday shifts, because support needs do not keep business hours.
The difference between a strong DSP and a warm body is not on the résumé. It is showing up for the shift they took, following a behavior support plan instead of improvising, documenting like it matters, and treating the people they support as people — with goals, preferences, and a say in their own day. Skill-building toward independence, not just supervision, is the actual job.
What we screen for in a DSP
Reliability first, because in direct care it is the whole ballgame: we check attendance and tenure history with prior direct-care employers, not just references who confirm employment dates. Then the shift-level competencies — medication-administration readiness where your program requires it, genuine overnight and weekend availability stated up front, and incident-documentation habits, which we probe with scenarios because a DSP who cannot write a clean incident report is a liability in an audit. Setting fit rounds it out: a great day-program DSP is not automatically a great overnight group-home DSP.
DSP turnover is the defining problem of this sector
Ask any IDD or residential provider what keeps them up at night and the answer is direct support turnover. Industry-wide, DSP roles churn at rates that force agencies into permanent recruiting mode — every departure means overtime for the remaining team, disrupted routines for the people supported, and another training cycle from zero.
A staffing partner that simply forwards résumés does not touch that problem. The mechanics that actually hold a direct-care workforce together are concrete: our professionals are paid weekly, every Friday, by direct deposit or Cash App, and they manage shift pickup and swaps through a mobile app. Reliable pay and schedule control are why our people show up, and showing up is the entire job.
Proof, not promises
When Dunwoody Village needed to build a new nursing and direct-support team, Focused Staffing Group staffed it in a matter of weeks — professionals their HR team described as fitting right in. That is the pattern we work toward on every DSP engagement: a full, cleared, reference-checked team, not a trickle of maybes.
We run this model for behavioral health and IDD organizations including Keystone Human Services and Merakey, backed by 12 years of staffing experience. Founder Robert Flom built the firm around care and education settings, and the vetting standards reflect that.
One client per region, no conversion fee
Focused Behavioral works with one client per region. If we build your DSP pipeline, we will not supply the residential provider across town — in a labor market this tight, sharing a candidate pool between competitors means both lose. The DSPs we develop for your homes go to your homes.
Every placement can start as temp-to-hire. A DSP works your shifts on our payroll while your program managers evaluate reliability, documentation, and rapport with the people they support. If it is a fit, they convert to your payroll — with no conversion fee. Every candidate arrives already cleared: background checks (in Pennsylvania, Act 34, plus Act 151 and Act 114 FBI fingerprinting for roles serving children), TB test, vaccination records, and references from prior direct-care employers.
DSP training and clearance requirements in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
Pennsylvania and New Jersey both regulate who may work as a direct support professional, and the rules are not the same. A DSP staffing agency has to run both correctly before anyone reaches your shortlist. Here is what each state's own regulations and agencies require.
Pennsylvania
- Criminal history checks cover temporary staff. In licensed community homes for individuals with an intellectual disability or autism, a Pennsylvania State Police criminal history check is required for prospective employees who will have direct contact with individuals, including part-time and temporary staff, and an FBI check is added when the applicant lives outside Pennsylvania 55 Pa. Code § 6400.21.
- Child-serving roles add three clearances. Under the Child Protective Services Law, employees need a Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance, a Pennsylvania State Police Criminal History Clearance, and an FBI Criminal History Clearance, renewed every 60 months from the date of the oldest clearance Pennsylvania DHS.
- 24 hours of training every year. Direct service workers in licensed community homes, and direct service professionals who deliver ODP home and community-based services, must complete 24 hours of job-skills training each year covering person-centered practices, abuse prevention and reporting, individual rights, recognizing and reporting incidents, safe use of behavior supports, and implementing the individual plan 55 Pa. Code § 6400.52 55 Pa. Code § 6100.143.
- Medication administration is credentialed. In a licensed community home, only a staff person who has completed a Department-approved medication administration course may administer medications 55 Pa. Code § 6400.169.
New Jersey
- No contact before fingerprint clearance. For staff supporting people funded by the Division of Developmental Disabilities, an applicant may not provide direct care, supervise individuals served, or work in their presence until the agency is notified that the Department has cleared them. Prints are taken by appointment through IdentoGO, and direct care staff are re-printed every two years NJ DDD Fingerprint Procedures.
- Central Registry check. Employers under DHS or DCF oversight must check whether a potential caregiver is on the Central Registry of Offenders Against Individuals with Developmental Disabilities, and may not hire or keep anyone listed NJ Department of Human Services.
- Danielle's Law. Enacted in 2003, it requires staff in facilities serving people with intellectual or developmental disabilities or traumatic brain injury to call 911 in a life-threatening emergency NJ DDD.
- New training requirements since January 1, 2025. DDD's New Jersey Direct Support Professional Core Competency Career Pathway set new training requirements for DSPs and supervisors at DDD/Medicaid-approved provider agencies, with required training bundles delivered through the College of Direct Support. Staff who administer medication complete a skills evaluation and competency assessment at hire and annually NJ DDD Training.
- Scheduling limits apply to every DSP. DDD reminds providers that DSP requirements — background and exclusion checks, training, incident reporting, and risk management — apply to every DSP an agency employs, and that a DSP may not be regularly scheduled for more than 16 consecutive hours in a 24-hour period NJ DDD Information Bulletin, June 11, 2024.
Delaware, Maryland, Washington DC, and New York each run their own checks. See our Delaware, Maryland, Washington, DC, and New York behavioral health staffing pages for each one, or compare providers in our guide to the best DSP and group home staffing agencies.
What we verify before you meet a candidate
- PA Act 34 criminal history clearance
- PA Act 151 child abuse clearance (roles serving children)
- PA Act 114 FBI fingerprint check (roles serving children)
- Equivalent clearances for New Jersey and Delaware placements
- TB test and vaccination documentation
- Reference checks with prior direct-care employers
- Skills screening for residential, day program, and community settings
“Focused Staffing Group helped us hire our new nursing and direct support team in a matter of weeks — professionals who fit right in.”
How an engagement works
Discovery call
A free 30-minute call. We map your homes and programs, shift patterns, client needs, and required clearances.
Source and vet
We source and interview DSP candidates, run background clearances and reference checks, and verify TB tests and vaccination documentation.
Vetted shortlist
You meet cleared, screened direct support professionals — and your program managers make the final call.
Onboarding and beyond
We stay involved through onboarding and the life of the placement. Temp-to-hire conversions carry no fee.
Common questions.
What does a DSP staffing agency do?
A DSP staffing agency recruits direct support professionals, completes their background clearances, health documentation, and required training checks, and places them with IDD providers, group homes, and residential programs for shift coverage, contract assignments, temp-to-hire evaluations, or permanent hires.
How do you address DSP turnover?
With mechanics, not slogans: weekly pay every Friday by direct deposit or Cash App, a mobile app for shift pickup and swaps, and placements screened for setting fit before day one. We also stay involved for the life of the placement, so problems get worked before they become resignations.
How quickly can you staff DSP openings?
Our automated credentialing roughly halves typical time-to-hire by completing clearances and health documentation before you meet candidates. As a concrete reference point, we staffed Dunwoody Village's new nursing and direct-support team in a matter of weeks. Your timeline depends on volume and setting, which we scope on the discovery call.
Will you also supply DSPs to other providers in my area?
No. We work with one client per region. If we build your pipeline, competing residential and IDD providers in your territory are not our clients, and your candidates are not shown to them.
What does it cost to hire a DSP permanently after a trial?
Nothing beyond the hourly bill rate during the evaluation. Temp-to-hire conversions to your payroll carry no fee — the trial period exists so you can judge reliability and fit on real shifts first.
What clearances do your DSPs carry?
In Pennsylvania: Act 34 criminal history, plus Act 151 child abuse clearance and Act 114 FBI fingerprinting for roles serving children, with equivalent clearances handled in New Jersey and Delaware. Every candidate also has a TB test, vaccination documentation, and checked references before they reach your shortlist.
Can you cover individual shifts as well as fill permanent roles?
Yes. Our professionals pick up and swap shifts through a mobile app, which supports per-diem and short-term coverage, and most clients pair that with long-term contract and temp-to-hire placements to stabilize their core teams.
What does a DSP do in a group home?
In a group home, a DSP supports residents through the full rhythm of the day: meals, hygiene, medications where the DSP is certified to administer them, transportation, appointments, and community activities — while following each resident's individual support plan and behavior support plan. They also carry the documentation load: progress notes, medication records, and incident reports, often during stretches when they are the only staff in the house.
Can DSPs administer medication?
In many states, yes — unlicensed direct-care staff can administer medications in residential settings after completing a state-approved medication administration training program, with documentation requirements attached. Requirements vary by state and program type, so we confirm each placement's med-administration needs on the discovery call and screen candidates for that readiness specifically.
How much training do DSPs need in Pennsylvania?
Direct service workers in Pennsylvania's licensed community homes, and direct service professionals delivering ODP home and community-based services, must complete 24 hours of job-skills training each year, under 55 Pa. Code § 6400.52 and § 6100.143. Staff who administer medications must also complete a Department-approved medication administration course.
What background checks do New Jersey DSPs need?
For DDD-funded services, applicants are fingerprinted through IdentoGO and may not provide direct care or work in the presence of the people served until the Department clears them; direct care staff are re-printed every two years. Employers must also check the Central Registry of Offenders Against Individuals with Developmental Disabilities.
Where we staff
Focused Behavioral staffs behavioral health providers nationwide. Home markets first, then every state with its own page on what it requires before a start.
- Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia
- New Jersey
- Delaware
- Maryland
- Washington, DC
- New York
- North Carolina
- Virginia
- South Carolina
- California
- Texas
- Florida
- Illinois
- Ohio
- Georgia
- Arizona
- Washington
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Connecticut
- Colorado
- Tennessee
- Kentucky
- Alabama
- Wisconsin
- Minnesota
- Indiana
- Missouri
- Oklahoma
- Louisiana
- Oregon
- Nevada
- Utah
- Iowa
- Nebraska
- Kansas
- Arkansas
- Mississippi
- West Virginia
- New Mexico
- Idaho
- Montana
- Wyoming
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Hawaii
- Alaska
Need staffing support for hard-to-fill roles?
Contact Focused Staffing Group to discuss your current and upcoming needs — or plan ahead and build a stronger candidate pipeline before openings become emergencies.
Responsive · Compliance-minded · Focused on hard-to-fill roles