Direct Care Workforce

State aging and disability agencies have operated within a tumultuous environment for the past several years. It has become increasingly more difficult to reconcile the needs of older adults and people with disabilities with the resources available to address those needs. Five themes are identified from the 2012 state of aging and disabilities surveys, which include the acceleration of Medicaid managed long term services and supports and continuing loss of historical knowledge around the nation.

There has been effort to create standards for senior centers at a state level. Many State Units on Aging (SUAs) coordinate with Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) to fund, develop, and foster these standards. This report summarizes findings from a survey of 38 states concerning various areas related to senior centers, including funding sources, operational guidelines, and required services. Most states reported some common practices and 16 states provide guidance for their senior centers.

Held in May 2005 this national conference was designed to meet the unique training needs of waiver program operators. This year’s conference, titled "The Sun Shines Brighter at Home," offered substantive opportunities to learn about the national initiatives, policy directions and grant programs that shape the current environment. The attached agenda has links to all of the presentation overheads.

This bill, recently introduced in the US House of Representatives (HR 1264), would amend Title XIX of the Social Security Act to provide states with additional funding for the purpose of increasing the wages for those who support people with disabilities. H.R. 1264 is designed to provide a financial incentive (additional temporary federal funding) to states to reimburse private providers for increased wages and mandated wage-related costs for specific direct support professionals.

Review a summary report of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions that have a direct or indirect impact on the workforce caring for the elder population, explores the challenges to developing the workforce, and critiques the adequacy of the ACA provisions in meeting those challenges. The ACA acknowledges gaps in the workforce caring for the elder population. Still, its provisions are inadequate given insufficient supply in the number and types of workers.

HCBS.org NewsCLIPS highlights the important work related to Real Choice Systems Change Grantees. In each issue, we examine a topic related to home and community-based care by providing an overview of recent papers and publications. The Summer issues provides an overview of the reports available on the Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (MIG) Program. The goal of the MIG program is to support people with disabilities in securing and sustaining competitive employment in an integrated setting.

This chart book compiles the median wages for personal care aides (PCAs) in each state between 2000 and 2010. It reports that PCA wages declined in 17 states between 2009 and 2010; overall, PCA wages for the entire U.S. crept downward slightly. The chart book also finds that real median wages for PCAs declined in 26 states between 2000 and 2010. Data for the chart book was gathered from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What is the cost of family caregiving to employers? A new report, “MetLife Caregiving Cost Study: Productivity Losses to U.S. Business” estimates the costs associated with replacing employees, absenteeism, crisis in care, workday interruptions, supervisory time, unpaid leave and reducing hours from full-time to part-time to total $33.6 billion. A new online tool allows employers to estimate the financial impact of family caregiving responsibilities within their own businesses.

Explore this site to find upcoming and archived training events, news from the Lifespan Respite and Aging networks, and the Center’s newsletter. The Technical Assistance Centers are a partnership between Family Caregiver Alliance and the ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center. Find tools needed for the efficient development and delivery of caregiver support services, best practices, policy & advocacy efforts, and to connect with fellow professionals from the aging networks.

The BJBC quarterly newsletter contains two stories on building a stronger workforce. “Capturing the Training Needs of Direct Care Workers” describes preliminary findings from a study in which direct-care workers and supervisors are surveyed about how effective their training has been and what else they need to provide quality care. “Matching Direct Care Workers with the Families Who Need Them” describes the searchable web-based registries in several states that bring people together.