CEO Corner: DSP Code of Ethics
October 30, 2025
Did You Know That Direct Support Professionals Have a Code of Ethics?
In 2026, the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration (ICI) plans to collaborate with the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) to update the Direct Support Professional (DSP) Code of Ethics (Institute on Community Integration, 2025).
The DSP Code of Ethics was originally developed in the early 2000s, with its most recent revision completed in 2016. Many training systems used by organizations employing DSPs are built upon the NADSP Ethical Framework, and Homeward Bound, Inc. (HBI) is no exception
Homeward Bound is committed to cultivating a strong professional culture among staff who support individuals with disabilities, and the Code of Ethics serves as a cornerstone of that commitment. From the first day of training, new DSPs are introduced to the concept that ethical practice requires self-reflection: understanding one’s own values and beliefs while honoring those of the people they support. According to NADSP, DSPs “assist people who need support to lead self-directed lives and to participate fully in our nation’s communities.”
“Basically, what we want for ourselves, we want for the people we serve,” says Rob Edwards, HBI’s CEO.
The DSP Code of Ethics offers guidance and structure for DSPs as they navigate ethical decisions in their daily work, often balancing the ideals of the profession with the realities of practice (National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals, 2016). Similarly, Homeward Bound’s Core Values emphasize choice, community, inclusion, and integrity (Homeward Bound, 2025).
Organized into nine tenets, the DSP Code of Ethics reads like a pledge to uphold the highest professional standards. While written for DSPs, NADSP encourages agency leaders, policymakers, and people receiving support to read the Code and consider how these ethical principles can be integrated into daily practice.
“It’s incredible that the Institute on Community Integration, right here in Minnesota, will be taking on the significant task of revising the DSP Code of Ethics with NADSP in 2026,” says Edwards. “HBI believes the Code offers an invaluable framework for the next generation of professionals entering the DSP career path. The more we immerse ourselves in the tradition of ethical practice, the more we dedicate ourselves to promoting the self-directed lives of those we support.”
Read more about the DSP Code of Ethics in the references below and check back with Homeward Bound in 2026 for updates on the national revision effort.
References
Homeward Bound, Inc. (n.d.). About – Core values. Retrieved October 2025, from https://hbimn.org/about/
Homeward Bound, Inc. (2025). Training curriculum for direct support professionals. Homeward Bound, Inc.
Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota. (2025, Fall). Impact Magazine.
National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals. (2016, April 12). NADSP Code of Ethics. Retrieved from https://nadsp.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/NADSP-Code-Of-Ethics.pdf
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