2001 Real Choice for Systems Change Grants
Jackie Sheppard, Assistant Secretary
919–733–4534
Jackie.sheppard@ncmail.net
Susan Harmuth, Project Manager
NC Department of Health and Human Services
Office of Long Term Care
2001 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699–2001
919–733–4534
Susan.Harmuth@ncmail.net
Subcontractor(s)
Institute on Aging Bob Konrad
UNC at Chapel Hill
919–966–2501
(Will assist with data analysis)
Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute
Sara Joffe
718–402–7157
(Coaching supervision train the trainer)
NC Board of Nursing Polly Johnson
Raleigh, NC
919–782–3211
(Geriatric nurse aide curriculum development)
All populations needing home and community based services.
Grant activities will focus on several major areas: reducing institutional bias, developing a career ladder for direct care workers, implementing public education and awareness efforts to promote recruitment and retention of direct care workers, and designing a consumer-directed care model and related accountability requirements, reimbursement policies, and policies covering fiscal intermediaries for clients.
Addressing direct care workforce issues will require a multi-pronged approach. First, we will examine options for increasing the availability and affordability of health care insurance coverage for direct care workers, as well as other benefits, including flexible work schedules, child and eldercare, and participation in retirement and other benefit plans.
To retain direct care workers, a career ladder is needed. Our project will develop competency-based training models with related wage recommendations that recognize incremental development of specialized competencies (e.g., working with persons with complex medical needs, developmental disabilities, dementia and other cognitive impairments; and development of mentoring skills, supervisory skills, effective communication skills, etc.). We will also perform a classification analysis of current state job categories for direct care workers and recommend any changes needed and payment levels based on competency level of worker. Finally, we will develop curricula, in-service, and continuing education programs in support of core and specialized training (including supervisory training and mentoring) and develop appropriate training outlets, opportunities for web-based training, etc.
To recruit and retain direct care workers, it is necessary to enhance the image of this workforce. We will implement a range of public education and awareness efforts to promote information about direct care worker opportunities (paid and volunteer) focused on home and community care. These efforts will include the development of promotional and training materials for use in high school allied health programs. We will also convene a Task Force of direct care staff to get input on recruitment, retention, and marketing efforts, developing public service announcements, video spots, feature articles, flyers for use with the media, general public, high schools, Hispanic and nontraditional populations, disabled population, Job Corps, etc.; and conduct job fairs to address the image and importance of this workforce. Additionally, we will promote the development of a direct care worker association in the state, and compile and disseminate information about innovative strategies being used to address recruit and retain direct care workers.
We will also collect and analyze data about the direct care workforce that will inform our efforts to recruit and retain workers.