DHS HCBS labor market report survey
Minnesota law requires provider agencies that are enrolled to provide most home and community-based services (HCBS) to submit labor market data annually to the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) (Minn. Stat. §256B.4912, subd. 1a). If your organization was randomly selected to participate in a statewide survey, you would have received an email invite from DHS on Aug. 12, 2025.
This required survey helps DHS better understand wages, benefits, size and scope of the direct support workforce in Minnesota. We will use the data gathered from this survey to inform the public and decision-makers in the state about the direct support labor market. We will report findings to the legislature in early 2026.
Companion version
Go to 2025 copy of labor market report survey (PDF) for a downloadable copy of the survey questions to prepare or while offline. Please note that only submissions via the emailed online survey will be considered complete, though.
Section I: Instructions
If selected, your organization has six weeks to complete this survey. All completed surveys must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. Failure to meet this deadline could result in a stop of payment for services.
The survey only can be completed on the online survey platform provided by DHS. Each organization that was randomly selected was provided a unique link and access to the survey. If you have questions or help with accessing the survey, contact us at dsd.fiscal@state.mn.us.
1. Time period
This survey asks questions about your organization’s practices and employees from Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2024. Answer the questions based on that time period, unless otherwise specified. Do not include information from outside of that time period, even if your organization’s practices and/or wages have changed since then.
2. What to report
Report information for your entire organization, unless otherwise asked for information about specific subsets of employees. For the purpose of this survey, the “organization” is all business under your legal entity or Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN).
3. Who should complete this survey?
A person with access to personnel data and financial knowledge of the organization should complete this survey. Some parts may require advanced preparation to collect data and/or may require more than one person to complete. You can save your work and return to the online survey if you choose to enter data in multiple sessions.
4. How long will it take to complete?
The amount of time this survey will take will vary by provider. However, you can save and come back to it if you need to. Use the save button on the bottom of each page and follow the directions to receive an emailed link to your in-progress form.
5. Questions
If you have questions, contact dsd.fiscal@state.mn.us and include “2025 Labor Market Survey” in the subject line. Allow two business days for a response.
Section II: Definitions
Use the following definitions when answering the survey questions. These definitions allow us to collect consistent data about the direct support labor market.
Direct support professional (DSP)
DSPs are employees whose primary responsibilities (i.e., more than 50% of their role) include providing support, training, supervision and personal assistance to people with disabilities. This term includes employees whose primary responsibility is to provide personal care assistance (PCA) services.
This term does not include:
Contracted staff being paid by another organization. DSP supervisor
DSP supervisors are employees whose primary responsibility (i.e., more than 50% of their role) is the supervision of DSPs. While these employees may perform direct support tasks, their primary job duty is to supervise employees and manage programs. These employees may or may not be licensed.
Qualified professional (QP)
QPs are employees whose primary responsibility (i.e., more than 50% of their role) is the supervision of personal care assistance (PCA) workers and PCA services. While these employees may provide PCA services or perform direct support tasks, their primary job duty is to supervise employees and manage programs. A QP must be a:
Full-time/part-time employee
For the purposes of this survey, a full-time employee is anyone who typically (i.e., more than 50% of the time) works 40 hour or more per week. A part-time employee is anyone who typically works 39 hours or less per week.
Benefits
Include the following benefits when reporting your organization’s costs:
Home and community-based services (HCBS)
The survey gathers data about all HCBS programs except Housing Stabilization Services (HSS). The following HCBS service types are included:
Section III: HCBS service types
The following sections list the services included in the survey and their respective service types.
Service type/bucket: Day services
Service names that fall under day services include:
Service type/bucket: Residential services
Service names that fall under residential services include:
Service type/bucket: Unit-based services
Service names that fall under unit-based services include:
Service type/bucket: PCA services
Service names that fall under PCA services are:
Report this page