Christian Opportunity Center (COC) has felt the strain of a staff shortage for several months and the shortage has now reached critical levels, according to a release sent out over this past weekend. This shortage is most evident in the need for Direct Support Professionals, who offer around-the-clock support for individuals with disabilities.

Amy Zuck with COC says their work allows those who COC supports the opportunity to live the life they choose to live. She says a high turnover rate for DSPs has been affected by non-standard working hours and pay that is bound by state and federal funding, and since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the staff shortage has intensified. Competing with other local industries offering higher pay and better hours makes it particularly challenging in recruiting new employees.

In the past year, COC has made many efforts to recruit and retain staff, including offering a higher sign-on bonus, utilizing temp agencies to fill the need, and increasing DSP wages. Zuck says these efforts have all been enhanced with support from Staff Enhancement funds from the COC Foundation Fund. To fill the gaps, COC administrative staff have been working many hours during this crisis an average of 300 direct support hours per week agency wide.

COC has 26 residential programs in Pella, Knoxville, Oskaloosa, Indianola, and Des Moines, several of which have been critically short-staffed for an extended time. The continued stress on the not-for-profit’s workforce has forced COC Leadership to close a few of their residential programs that have been the hardest to staff, and the impacted people supported and their families have been notified of these closures.

“Closing programs is a last resort in an attempt to downsize COC’s programs to more closely match the workforce available to staff these programs. We are keenly aware that the lives of people supported and their families are disrupted by these closings. We are doing all we can to assist those affected in finding alternative services. We continue to believe in the importance of our mission of integrating Christian values in empowering individuals with disabilities to realize their full potential, and we encourage others to join us in that mission by applying for a job at COC.”

For more information on job opportunities that are available at COC, visit www.christianopportunity.org or contact their HR
department at 641-628-1162.