"pink collar" worker

PHI’s call for investment in the eldercare/disability services workforce as part of the economic recovery plan has been echoed by economists and advocacy organizations across the country. Like PHI, these groups are calling for more “pink” jobs—i.e., jobs in health care, education, and social services usually held by women. Continue Reading

Senators Ron Wyden and Herb Kohl

For eldercare stakeholders, one of the most meaningful outcomes of the Senate debate on the federal recovery package may have been a floor discussion concerning the direct-care workforce.

In offering an amendment to the bill, a more robust version of Retooling the Health Care Workforce for an Aging America Act, Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) extracted a promise from the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee that the needs of the long-term care workforce will be considered in health care reform. Continue Reading

Capitol Hill

On Wednesday, the U.S. House and Senate reached a compromise on the economic recovery package, bringing the total cost to $789 billion.

Complete details were unavailable as of press time. According to various news reports, even though the deal had been struck, lawmakers still had not seen a final summary of the bill, which emerged from conference committee talks in a much expanded form, having doubled in size from roughly 778 pages to a whopping 1434 pages. Continue Reading

report cover

The National Direct Service Workforce Resource Center has released a white paper (pdf) that provides a first-ever overview of workforce challenges and practices across four critical service sectors:

• intellectual and developmental disabilities
• aging
• physical disabilities
• behavioral health

Usually, each of these sectors is studied and written about separately, reflecting a fragmentation that is deeply rooted in the separate funding, policy, service, and advocacy worlds of each of these sectors. Continue Reading

Need help building your skills during these tough financial times? The AARP Foundation’s Women’s Scholarship Program provides scholarship funds to women 40+ seeking new job skills, training, and educational opportunities to support themselves and their families. Continue Reading

Federal Register, Jan. 21, 2009

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has acted  on PHI’s suggestions in adopting new definitions of direct-care jobs in a planned revision to the Standard Occupational Classifications (SOC) system. The labor market information systems of both the federal government and each state use the SOC codes and definitions to measure employment, track wages, and project employment growth.

“I’m hopeful that these changes will lead to improved counting of direct-care workers at both the federal and state levels,” said Dorie Seavey, PHI’s director of policy research. Continue Reading