The Overview

If you work as a direct support professional helping Californians with developmental disabilities, the state now formally recognizes your job title in law. California's Developmental services: direct support professionals, AB 2414 became law when Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed it Sept. 27. ​

A 2023 study in the *Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities* describes low wages and high responsibility as longstanding challenges to recruiting and retaining direct support workers, challenges that intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill was chaptered as Chapter 603, Statutes of 2026, on September 27, 2026.

What the Law Does

California's AB 2414 changes the title "direct service professionals" to "direct support professionals" for workers who provide support to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. That shift is more than a name change. The law defines a direct support professional as someone who receives compensation to provide direct support to children or adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, is employed by a service provider receiving regional center funding, and spends at least 50 percent of their working time completing direct support tasks.

Having a statutory definition matters because it sets a clear, consistent standard for who counts as a direct support professional under California law, which can affect how workers are counted, tracked, and referenced in future policy. The law also makes various technical, conforming changes to the bill's language.

Legislative Status

Asm. Stephanie Nguyen (D) sponsored the bill. Every recorded vote on the bill was unanimous: the Assembly Human Services Committee passed it 7-0 on April 14, the Assembly Appropriations Committee passed it 15-0 on May 14, the full Assembly passed it 78-0 on May 26, and the Senate Human Services Committee passed it 5-0 on June 29. The Senate passed it 39-0 on Aug. 26, and after three Senate amendments the Assembly concurred 79-0 on Aug. 31, the largest yes total of any vote on the bill.

That unbroken string of unanimous votes, across six separate tallies in both chambers, signals that lawmakers from both parties saw the change as uncontroversial. The California Disability Services Association called AB 2414 "our bill" to formally recognize direct support professionals in California law.

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