Direct Support Professional (DSP)
Make a Living While Making a Difference
Are you looking for a rewarding career where you can positively impact someone’s life every day? Join the team at Austin’s Place, where we support young adults with intellectual disabilities in building meaningful skills, relationships, and experiences.
We are currently seeking compassionate, dependable, and motivated Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) to provide one-on-one support to our clients in a safe, engaging, and supportive environment.
Why Join Our Team?
Excellent Work/Life Balance – Daylight hours only (Monday–Friday)
No nights, weekends, or holidays required
One-to-One Staffing Ratio – Focus on one client at a time
Competitive Pay – $16–$20 per hour
Outstanding Benefits Package
- 100% employer-paid health, dental, vision, and life insurance
- Paid holidays and paid time off
- Paid training
- 403(b) retirement plan
About Austin’s Place
Austin’s Place is a unique day program for young adults with intellectual disabilities that focuses on personal growth, independence, and community engagement.
Located on a beautiful 22-acre campus, our program offers a wide range of enriching activities and resources including:
- Walking trails and outdoor recreation areas
- A fully accessible therapeutic center
- Outdoor music garden, zip line, and swimming pool
- Greenhouse and garden
- Sensory rooms and an art room
- Cooking activities in two accessible kitchens
Our clients participate in activities that build communication, social, recreational, and pre-vocational skills. We also enjoy frequent outings in the community such as visits to the Pittsburgh museums, Science Center, Zoo, Aviary, local parks, restaurants, and libraries.
At Austin’s Place, we tailor programming around each client’s interests and strengths, helping them stay motivated while working toward their individual goals.
What You’ll Do
As a Direct Support Professional, you will:
- Provide one-on-one support and supervision for a client
- Assist with social, recreational, and skill-building activities
- Encourage independence and confidence
- Ensure the safety, comfort, and well-being of your client
- Help create positive and meaningful daily experiences
What We’re Looking For
The ideal candidate is:
- Patient, compassionate, and dependable
- A strong communicator with great interpersonal skills
- Observant and attentive to client needs
- Passionate about helping others succeed
Job Details
Position Types: Full-time, Part-time, Internship
Schedule:
- 8-hour shifts
- Day shift
- Monday–Friday
- No nights or weekends
Education:
High school diploma or equivalent (required)
Experience:
1 year of caregiving experience preferred (but we provide paid training!)
If you’re looking for a career where you can build relationships, support others, and truly make a difference, we would love to meet you.
About Us
There is a growing need for specialized, intensive transitionally focused training for the numbers of young adults graduating from our traditional school systems that are diagnosed with autism spectrum, developmental and intellectual disabilities and are moderately to significantly impaired.
Austin’s Place was started by parents of these special persons so that, simply put, their child would have a safe place to go to each day to continue to refine the life skills necessary to become contributing members in their local communities after graduation. It is the more intense behavioral and sensory needs of these specific types of learners that often limit these young adults from effectively participating into traditional adult vocational support programs. Austin’s Place is designed to provide specialized and intensive programming for these young adults to address specific behavioral or sensory limitations, while still focusing on developing vocational skills and increasing community integration.
We have learned through educating these exceptional learners that is takes cooperation and collaboration. Therefore, families, instructors and therapists will work together to develop and implement quality and comprehensive programming to meet the global needs of these young adults.
Austin’s Place is designed to serve these special persons and meet their individual needs in an innovative, strength-based and positive fashion. Young adults attending programming at Austin’s Place will participate in daily routines and training opportunities to develop optimal levels of independence, while still accounting for their own capacities and limitations. Programming also incorporates the interests and strengths of consumers so that there is true motivation on the part of consumers to learn and progress. Instructional priorities are placed on developing independence in self care, community engagement as well as developing usable vocational skills in future settings.
Mission Statement
To provide specialized, intensive transitionally focused training for young adults graduating from traditional school systems who are diagnosed with autism spectrum, developmental and intellectual disabilities and who are moderately to significantly impaired.