PHI is one of five nationally recognized policy experts staffing the National Direct Service Workforce Resource Center. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services created the Resource Center in 2006 to respond to the large and growing shortage of workers who provide direct care and personal assistance to individuals who need long-term supports and services.
The Resource Center supports efforts to improve recruitment and retention of workers who assist people with disabilities and older adults to live independently and with dignity in the community.
PHI has collaborated with other workforce experts affiliated with the Resource Center to produce national white papers on strategic workforce topics, including:
- State Long-Term Care Reform: The Need for Monitoring the Direct Service Workforce & Recommendations for Data Collection
- A Synthesis of Direct Service Workforce Demographics and Challenges
- Emerging strategies for providing health coverage to direct service workers (pdf)
Over the last 3 years, through a competitive process, the Resource Center has provided technical assistance to 15 states, and an additional 11 states have received short-term general assistance.
From 2008 – 2010, the DSW Resource Center will provide individualized, in-depth technical assistance to Money Follows the Person (MFP) grantees to help states design better workforce polices and build the home- and community-based service capacity necessary to support individuals transitioning from institutional settings.
