Despite Failing Grade on Home Visits, Job Supports, Timely Service Plans/Budgets, DDSD Spins Narrative of Success
The mission statement of the Developmental Disabilities Support Division (DDSD) is, “To serve those with intellectual and developmental disabilities by providing a comprehensive system of person-centered community supports so that individuals live the lives they prefer, where they are respected, empowered, and free from abuse, neglect, and exploitation.”
Developmental Disabilities Support Division Director Spins A Narrative that Belies Consistent Failures to Fix Program, Recruitment and Retention Problems in DSP Workforce
In the July 2025, Developmental Disabilities Support Division Newsletter, the agency’s leader, Jennifer Rodriguez, wrote to the Developmental Disabilities community:
“… I am grateful for each of you, and I am confident that together we will continue to protect rights, deliver needed services, promote independence and ensure public accountability for the well-being of people with IDD.“
However, under Rodriguez’s leadership, the DDSD failed to meet targets of three elements critical to the mission of the agency, 1.) completion of home visits (for wellness checks), 2.) providing employment services, and, 3.) having sufficient number of service plans and budgets in place for clients of the DD Waiver.
It’s not like Rodriguez didn’t know.
According to the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee 3rd Quarter Report Card for the Developmental Disabilities Support Division (see below), at the end of April, the agency was substantially behind its projected number of “Health and Wellness Visits” DDSD said it would conduct during FY 25.
The Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) also wrote in its 3rd Quarter Report Card, that the division
- “did not meet the target for the number of individuals receiving employment services.”
- “Nor did it reach the target for the number of individuals who have a service plan and budget in place.”
DDSD missed its own target of Health and Wellness Visits by about 21%
Analyzing the visitation numbers in the LFC report and the agency’s own visitation numbers tucked away in the July Newsletter, the Developmental Disabilities Support Division (DDSD) likely missed more than four thousand of the home visits the agency’s leaders told legislators they would conduct in the twelve months of fiscal year 2025, which ended in June.
When Rodriguez was appointed to the position of Division Director for the DDSD, her immediate boss, Health Care Authority Secretary Kari Armijo issued a press release stating, “Jennifer Rodriguez will lead the Developmental Disability Supports Division, bringing over 26 years of experience in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities.”
Having been in the number two position at DDSD before her promotion, Rodriguez is not without knowledge of problems at the agency and its continued inability to sufficiently provide the services that the DD Waiver community desperately needs.
So, when Rodriguez also wrote in the newsletter about the “…Knowledgeable and committed DDSD staff dedicated to keeping people safe, traveling across the state daily to complete health and wellness visits …,” she cannot plead ignorance of the real deal, as outlined in the LFC assessment, that her agency missed the mark on home visits and other elements of the agency’s mission.
Another key element of the agency mission is advocating for and implementing policies that create a sufficient workforce of fairly paid direct care workers.
In 2023, the DDSD commissioned a Provider Capacity Study relative to the needs of the programs serving DD Waiver clients.
Rodriguez was part of the DDSD leadership team which oversaw the development and presentation of the study completed by the Public Consulting Group (PCG).
That study drew a straight line between insufficient compensation of care givers and the inability to retain and recruit the workforce necessary to serve the DD Waiver community.
Some of the findings of the study are listed here:
- Providers not accepting new participants
- No providers in area
- Providers unable to staff service due to complexity of needs
- Transportation not available for Developmental Disabilities Waiver
- Lack of staff for specific days or hours
- Staff leaving the agency
The PCG Capacity Study states, “Recruiting and retaining direct support personnel (DSPs) is crucial for organizations that provide support and care to individuals with disabilities.”
The two-year old study listed “Competitive Compensation” as the first remedy needed to deal with retention and recruitment problems, recommending that organizations and providers “Offer competitive wages and benefits to attract quality candidates. Adequate pay reflects the value of the work DSPs do.”
To help address that the Legislature appropriated additional funding.
Yet, DSPs continue to be severely underpaid while DDSD leadership and its parent agency, the Health Care Authority, refuse to provide the increases the Legislature and Governor recently passed, which would move the needle forward to improve recruitment and retention.
Despite a Failing Report Card Under Her Leadership, DDSD Director Rodriguez Received a $5,979 Raise While DSPs Again Get Left Behind.
So, for the people that actually provide direct care to DD Waiver clients, it was disingenuous, if not insulting, for Rodriguez to write in her Newsletter message, “We have so many things to be grateful for in NM’s system of support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”
DSPs receiving NO pay increase are making between $6,000 to $14,000 per year below a Living Wage, while the DDSD agency staff Rodriguez was referring to in the Newsletter received a 4% raise last month.
Rodriguez is one of those state employees who received a pay raise, increasing her salary from $150,000 a year to $155,979 – just under a $6,000 a year raise.
Report from Legislative Finance Committee 3rd Quarter Report Card on Health Care Authority’s
July Message of DDSD Director Jennifer Rodriguez to DD Waiver Community.
Happy summer!
We have so many things to be grateful for in NM’s system of support for people with
intellectual and developmental disabilities. Even when things get hard or uncertainty is
amidst, stay positive! Approach all you do with optimism, resilience and a focus on
what’s possible rather than what’s limiting. Did you know, positive thinking reduces
stress, lowers rates of depression, boosts motivation, and it’s contagious?! In case you
need it, here a are a few reminders of all the greatness we are surrounded by…
- Amazing Provider Agencies who provide homes, transportation, and direct
support professionals to support people with IDD to live with dignity, ind-
pendence and purpose. - Awesome Direct Support Professionals who bring empathy and patience to
work every day so that people with IDD are seen, heard and valued as full
members of society. - Outstanding state partners who come together every time we ask for something to
collaborate and share different perspectives and ideas. - A remarkable legislature that has invested millions of dollars in our programs
to support people with IDD. - Knowledgeable and committed DDSD staff dedicated to keeping people safe,
traveling across the state daily to complete health and wellness visits, and - The most extraordinary people with IDD and their families who trust us to
hear them and design a system of support to meet their needs.
I am grateful for each of you, and I am confident that together we will continue to protect rights, deliver needed services, promote independence and ensure public accountability for the well-being of people with IDD.
Jen