As the U.S. population ages, there may be a shortage of professionally trained people to care for the millions of older Americans.

Two leading national disability organizations say the health and quality of life for millions of Americans is endangered by an alarming shortage of professional caregivers, as demand for services among people with disabilities and aging Americans is rising dramatically.

The groups have launched a new Web site, WhoWillCare.net to raise public awareness about what they say is a largely ignored crisis.

Professional caregivers, also known as direct support professionals, have long been a key part of community-based health care services. They assist people with disabilities and aging Americans with their daily affairs, including getting dressed, taking medications, personal hygiene and preparing and eating meals. With the help of direct support professionals, individuals with disabilities can live independently, work, volunteer and contribute to their communities.

Older people are often able to remain in their homes, close to friends and family, because of the services of professional caregivers.

But nationwide, the direct support professional turnover rate is between 40 to 75 percent every year because of poor wages and increasing job demands.

WhoWillCare.net says hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities are already waiting for services and the Bureau of Labor Statistics says demand for caregivers will grow 62 percent through 2010 as Americans grow older. Also, more than 100,000 people with disabilities in the workforce depend on direct support professionals.

WhoWillCare.net is an Internet-driven campaign created through a partnership between the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) and United Cerebral Palsy (UCP), two of the nation's largest non-profit health organizations whose respective members and affiliates provide services to hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities.

"American families already know the impact of the direct support professional shortage, and those who don't soon will. Thousands of families are waiting for help, and millions make do with little more because there are simply not enough direct support professionals," said Renee L. Pietrangelo, CEO of ANCOR. "WhoWillCare.net is about getting this issue on the radar before it's too late."

A 2003 national report found that direct support professionals earn an average of only $8.68 per hour, a wage clearly unequal to their responsibilities. Support professional wages, which are almost entirely publicly financed through Medicaid, are increasing well below comparable jobs and even the minimum wage. According to the Department of Labor, the wages of personal and home care aides increased only $0.82 from 1992 to 2000 versus $4.11 for fast food workers.

"WhoWillCare.net recognizes that direct support professionals make a difference, and that it's time they make a living too," said Stephen Bennett, president and CEO of United Cerebral Palsy. "We entrust direct support professionals with tremendous responsibility yet we expect them to work in jobs that don't even meet welfare-to-work wage minimums."