Ending Haitians' TPS meant loss, disruption at my organization

When nine direct support professionals for those with disabilities suddenly leave an organization like ours, the impact cannot be measured simply by nine vacancies on a staffing schedule.

At EPIC Long Island, we recently had to terminate that many staff members to comply with federal employment eligibility requirements after the end of Haitians' Temporary Protected Status. Five were full-time employees and four part-time. These team members worked in EPIC's residential homes across Long Island, including in Medford, Baldwin, Freeport, Coram, Hicksville, North Patchogue and Farmingdale.

All nine were an integral part of the daily lives of people we serve with intellectual and developmental disabilities, or I/DD. Their average tenure with EPIC was about a year and a half. One had worked with us for 10 years.

That kind of familiarity matters tremendously in our field.

Direct support professionals, or DSPs, help people with I/DD eat, bathe, prepare for day programs, participate in community activities, and navigate countless other parts of everyday life. Over time, they learn the routines, preferences, behaviors and support needs of the people they serve. Trust develops through that consistency.

When familiar staff disappear, those routines and relationships are disrupted.

We cannot simply leave a shift uncovered. Our residential programs have staffing requirements based on the needs of the people living in each home. When vacancies occur, we may need to bring in employees from other programs or staff who may be less familiar with the people living in that home. That keeps necessary supports in place, but it does not immediately replace what was lost.

A DSP entering a home for the first time does not yet know each person's routines, communication style or individual needs. The people we support may find themselves receiving intimate, highly personal assistance from someone they don't know. For individuals who rely on consistency and familiarity, particularly those with significant behavioral or supervision needs, those changes can be profoundly disruptive.

The strain is felt by the DSPs who remain. They may be asked to work overtime while we recruit, hire and train replacements. Long Island providers were already struggling to recruit and retain DSPs amid persistent workforce shortages and a high cost of living. In that context, this new pressure increases the risk of burnout and creates yet another challenge to maintaining stability.

This is what the loss of nine employees looks like within a disability-services organization with roughly 600 employees, 400 of whom are direct support professionals.

It also illustrates how decisions made at the federal level can produce consequences that are intensely local. A change in immigration policy can leave an empty position in a group home in Farmingdale or a supervisor scrambling to cover a shift in Medford. Most importantly, a person with a disability in Baldwin or Freeport may suddenly be left wondering why someone they knew and trusted is no longer there.

At EPIC Long Island, our responsibility is to ensure that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities continue receiving consistent, personal and high-quality support. We will meet that responsibility.

Policymakers at every level must understand what moments like this teach us. Decisions surrounding immigration and the disability workforce do not remain confined to government documents or policy debates.

Eventually, they can arrive at someone's front door.

This guest essay reflects the views of Lisa Burch, the president and CEO of EPIC Family of Human Service Agencies.