Recruitment and Retention

What does it take to be a direct care worker? The North Carolina Real Choice Workforce Infrastructure Development grantees designed a video to answer this question and more.. The DVD has two sections, one on public awareness which runs 7 minutes and a second piece on recruitment which runs for 5:40 seconds.

With the passage of Chapter 570, H.P. 1351-L.D. 1910: “An Act to Create Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities” by the Maine State Legislature in 2006, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Labor presented a report that identified resources, successes, and challenges in building supports that aid to increase employment for individuals with developmental disabilities.

The New Jersey Department of Human Services’ Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) presents their action plan for systems change. This Plan outlines the process of transitioning individuals with developmental disabilities from developmental centers (DCs) to the community over the next 8 years (State FY 2008 through FY 2015). The Plan addresses the requirements of state legislation (S1090, PL 2006, Chapter 61) as well as the issues in the NJ P&A Olmstead lawsuit.

The Tennessee Personal Assistance Supports and Services program developed this comprehensive guide to assist individuals in self-direction. The guide provides people with disabilities the information and tools needed to hire and manage a Personal Assistant. The guide discusses the differences between hiring individually or through an agency, how to process a self-assessment, offers job descriptions and performance expectations, and other checklists.

The Arkansas IndependentChoices program developed two new tools. The Consumer-Directed training manual will provide users with ideas and suggestions on hiring, training, and managing a personal care attendant. The Personal Care Attendant handbook will provide users with training material that will help trainees do their job as a personal care attendant. Both manuals contain information about hiring, communication and management issues.

The Shawnee County CDDO is pleased to present the Kansas Personal Assistance Supports and Services (K-PASS) Self-Direction Toolkit. The purpose is to provide people with disabilities the information and tools they need to hire and manage their personal assistant supports and services. The toolkit includes such items as job descriptions, training information, emergency back-up plans and other useful resources.

This report describes the implementation of Personal Preference by synthesizing information from in-person discussions with program staff, a mail survey of program consultants, telephone interviews with consumers in the treatment group, and program records. It discusses the program’s goals and features, the ways consumers managed their program responsibilities and took advantage of increased flexibility, and the degree to which consumers were satisfied with the programs.

Managed by the Home Care Quality Authority (HCQA), a public agency in Washington, this Registry is a customized internet-based system designed to match the needs of publicly funded in-home consumers/employers with pre-qualified individual providers. The day-to-day operations are administered by Referral and Workforce Resource Centers (RWRCs). Local sites offer programs and services including referral searches, a Resource Clearinghouse and outreach materials such as the attached newsletter.

Launched by CMS, the center provides information and assistance to state and local governments, policy makers, researchers, employers, workers and consumers. The Resource Center offers a comprehensive on-line database, information through a toll-free telephone number, and individualized, in-depth technical assistance for selected State Medicaid Agencies. Visit the site for best practices and other materials to increase the quality of the workforce and enhance recruitment and retention.

There is significant concern over high turnover rates among direct care workers providing in-home care. This paper describes “research in progress” of a 3-year field study examining relationships between interventions and measures of job satisfaction and turnover. Economic and non-economic interventions were introduced to a population of nearly 700. Preliminary findings suggest that job satisfaction increases not only from workers’ participation in, but simply their awareness of interventions.