The newest additions to PHI’s National Clearinghouse on the Direct Care Workforce:

Workforce Infrastructure in Support of People with Disabilities: Matching Human Resources to Service Needs — This January 2010 report by the National Council on Disability cites numerous studies suggesting that the U.S. faces a shortage of workers qualified to provide care to people with disabilities. It lists several steps that that private and public employers can take to resolve this discrepancy between supply and demand. For example, the report argues that employers could raise wages for workers, provide them with adequate health benefits, and invest in training programs to improve workers’ skills. Government agencies must work in tandem with the private sector to grow the disability services workforce, the report concludes.

Strategies for Improving DSW Recruitment, Retention, and Quality: What We Know About What Works, What Doesn’t, and Research Gaps — This report by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) lists numerous strategies that states can adopt to increase the recruitment and retention of direct-care workers, as well as to improve the quality of the care those workers provide. The strategies include increasing wages and benefits, introducing peer mentoring programs, and giving workers a greater say in decision making. The report also suggests a targeted approach to recruitment, focusing on groups currently underrepresented in the direct-care workforce, such as men, immigrants, and older workers.

Person-Centered Care for Nursing Home Residents: The Culture Change Movement — This article, published in the February 2010 Health Affairs, provides a broad overview of the past, present, and future of the culture change movement. It notes that awareness of culture change among care providers has jumped substantially since 2005. The article also points out, however, that one-third of nursing home directors say they do not practice or plan to initiate culture change in their facilities. The article concludes with a list of ways that policymakers can help spur culture change in their communities.

PHI’s National Clearinghouse on the Direct Care Workforce is a national online library for people in search of solutions to the direct-care staffing crisis in long-term care. It houses over 800 articles, reports, issue briefs, and fact sheets on the direct-care workforce.