Повышение минимальной зарплаты в Миннесоте спровоцирует кадровый кризис для специалистов по уходу в Северной Дакоте

North Dakota was already in the middle of a full-blown direct support professional (DSP) workforce crisis long before Minnesota rewrote the rules of the regional labor market. Minnesota is raising the minimum on nursing home wages for certified nursing assistants (CNAs) to $22.50/hour in September 2026; with a further increase to $24/hour Jan. 1, 2027. The hiring landscape for DSPs in eastern North Dakota border cities is about to shift in ways that North Dakota’s policymakers have not fully anticipated. For years, North Dakota providers have struggled to recruit DSPs at wages hovering between $17–$19/hour, with some unable to offer more than $16. When Minnesota sets a $24/hour minimum for CNAs, it doesn’t just raise wages, it will reset expectations for all DSP positions across the region. ADVERTISEMENT Workers don’t distinguish between CNA and DSP roles the way policymakers do. They compare hourly wage, schedule stability, training requirements, vehicle usage, and commuting distance. When the wage difference is $6–$8/hour, the decision becomes simple. Minnesota’s CNA minimum wage applies only to nursing home staff, but the effect spills into every direct care sector. A DSP earning $17/hour in Wahpeton or Fargo will now know that a short drive east will guarantee $24/hour wage- plus overtime and holiday pay. Even company 401k employer matches will contain substantial differences. Providers already face 50–60% turnover rates and will now see those rates accelerate as DSPs chase higher wages across the river. For rural communities within driving distance and who are lucky to have one provider, the consequences are predictable. What happens when DSP positions go unfilled? North Dakota border cities will see that many people with developmental disabilities will experience a loss of residential options, less opportunity for employment, and present a greater likelihood of congregate care. Individuals lose independence, families burn out, community participation collapses, and social isolation deepens. Trained and experienced DSPs are not optional; they are the crucial infrastructure that makes community living possible. Minnesota’s wage increase is backed by Medicaid reimbursement adjustments. North Dakota’s DSP wages, however, remain tied to long-standing underinvestment and slow rate-setting processes. This creates a dangerous mismatch as Minnesota nursing home wages rise automatically through statutory wage floors, while North Dakota DSP wages rise only if legislators choose to fund them. North Dakota’s DSP shortage has always been a civil rights issue. The ability of people with developmental disabilities to live and participate in their home communities depends entirely on whether DSPs exist to support them. North Dakota must respond with a competitive wage strategy in the upcoming legislative session. If a solution isn’t found, our future will contain longer waiting lists, more individuals removed from services due to lack of providers, increased reliance on group settings, greater use of undertrained staff, and the erosion of community inclusion and self-determination. A return to the past cannot occur. Anderson is the executive director of The Arc of Cass County.