Direct Care Workforce

A Southwestern Pennsylvania demonstration program has been initiated to promote relationship-centered care for elders and people living with disabilities in need of home and community-based services and supports. It involves a series of five three-day train-the-trainer programs based on the state model for personal care aides (PCAs). Included are the announcement and a fact sheet on direct-care workers in Pennsylvania.

More than two dozen proven examples of direct-care worker retention strategies are outlined in this report. The report includes key research findings in the literature that show which factors lead to an increase in retention, as well as key successful strategies and programs, including many tools, resources and contacts.

Find two fact sheets; the first presents occupational employment projections for the three job titles that make up the direct-care workforce: nursing assistants, home health aides, and personal and home care aides, and suggests that over the next decade, the nation’s direct-care workforce will constitute the largest, fastest-growing group of jobs in the country. The second provides a detailed overview of the demographic and economic characteristics of the direct-care workforce.

What role can community colleges play in supporting initiatives to improve the quality of in-home care? The Caregiving Training Institute was created to support a wide range of training programs at Community Colleges. This brief provides an overview of the trend toward in-home services, highlights the importance of well-trained caregivers, and discusses the unique role community colleges can play in this arena.

View two screening tools developed for Rhode Island’s PersonalChoice program. The PersonalChoice Participant Self-Assessment is designed to assess whether the applicant possesses the ability to self-Direct and manage his or her own care. The representative screen details requirements for the role and includes screening questions. These forms can serve as templates for other states developing similar participant-directed initiatives.

While intended to assist new participant direction partners, a wider audience may benefit from this review of directly-hired workers' characteristics, experiences, and training needs compared to agency-hired workers. This policy brief draws on research from two large scale participant-directed options for people with diverse disabilities: the Cash & Counseling Demonstration and Evaluation (CCDE) and the California In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program.

Find out about the proposed changes to Section 3504 of the Internal Revenue Code and regulations pertaining to agents that service home care service recipient employers. Specifically, these rules propose allowing such agents to file and deposit Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) in the aggregate under Section 3504 of the Internal Revenue Code. Review information on how to submit comments by April 13, 2010, as well as key terms used within the proposed rules.

Review national trends, gaps and barriers that threaten both the availability and quality of future services for people with disabilities. Research in this report has been aimed at better positioning the human resources sector for the future. Recommendations include identifying opportunities for public-private sector partnerships, promoting opportunities to encourage new entrants into critical occupations, and to establish systematic efforts to acquire information on worker supply.

Are you an advocate, program administrator, service provider or caregiver fighting for your state and local caregiver support programs? This report includes background information, statistics, talking points and a list of additional resources to help make the case for maintaining public funding for crucial caregiver support services. Additional resources are listed, as well as a chart detailing prevalence and economic value of family caregiving by state.

Review strategies states can adopt to increase recruitment and retention of direct-care workers and to improve the quality of the care those workers provide. Reported strategies include increasing wages and benefits, introducing peer mentoring programs, and giving workers a greater say in decision-making. The findings also suggest a targeted approach to recruitment, focusing on groups currently underrepresented in the direct-care workforce, such as men, immigrants, and older workers.