About the Center
Our state profiles on the direct-care workforce include:
- workforce size and projected employment growth
- trends in wages for each direct-care occupation
- information on health insurance coverage rates and reliance on public assistance
- legislative and regulatory developments pertaining to the workforce
- notable initiatives such as training programs, demonstration projects, matching service registries, and other efforts to improve the quality of workers’ jobs
- best practices
- resources, including state-specific surveys, reports, and recommendations
The PHI State Data Center provides up-to-date state-level profiles of the direct-care workforce, including workers serving individuals of all ages with physical, developmental or intellectual disabilities, and with chronic illnesses and end-of-life care needs. These profiles feature key workforce statistics presented in easy-to-read, downloadable charts plus information on state initiatives to improve the quality of these jobs.
Currently, states are confronting the twin challenges of meeting expanding demand for long-term services and supports while rebalancing their long-term care systems. As a result, policymakers, advocates, workforce practitioners, and others find they are hampered by a lack of ongoing, reliable state-based information about the direct-care workforce. In 2009, the National Direct Service Workforce Resource Center released a white paper (PDF) addressing this need, and presented recommendations to states regarding collecting and publicly reporting a minimum data set of information on their workforce across long-term care settings.
The State Data Center seeks to provide states with better information for monitoring key vital signs of their direct-care workforces. And while the State Data Center cannot meet the full challenge put forward by the National Direct Service Resource Center—that will require states to prioritize better workforce tracking and monitoring—our hope is that this initiative moves us in that direction. We welcome your feedback and suggestions.
Links
For additional statistical and descriptive information about the different components of the direct-care workforce, visit the following organizations: