Wages Adjusted for Inflation: Over the past decade, inflation-adjusted median hourly wages for Nursing Aides, Orderlies, and Attendants in Minnesota increased by 5 percent, from $9.66 to $10.19. Real wages for Home Health Aides remained unchanged and those for Personal Care Aides increased.
Employer-Sponsored Insurance: Compared to the national civilian workforce, fewer of Minnesota’s direct-care workers have access to and use employer-sponsored insurance. Some work for employers that do not offer health insurance. Others work for employers that limit eligibility for health insurance to full-time employees. This creates a barrier for many direct-care workers, especially those in home and community-based settings, who often work only part-time due to the episodic nature of direct-care work. Even workers who do have access to insurance from their employer may find the co-pays and premiums unaffordable.
Minn. Stat. §256B.0659, subd. 20(6)(b), 21(12) and 24(9): All PCA agencies enrolled with Minnesota Health Care Programs must pay personal care assistants wages and benefits equal to 72.5 percent of the revenue from the Medical Assistance rate. These wages and benefits could include tuition reimbursement or continuing education benefits.
SF 2934: This bill modifies the personal care assistance program. It requires training for direct providers and supervisors by July 2010. It allows for electronic training with competency-based online training. (Engrossed March 24, 2010)
HF 252: This bill would provide an annual $50,000 grant to A Chance to Grow, Inc. for establishing an outcomes-based personal assistance pilot project for disabled children. Another important requirement is an increase in the wages of personal care assistants by up to $3, based on the experience of the individual. (Introduced January 21, 2011)
Hope Haven: Hope Haven is a nonprofit organization serving adults and children with developmental disabilities. Based in Iowa but also serving Minnesota, it gives its direct-care workers the opportunity to advance through a career ladder. Direct support professionals who take part in the program acquire new skills and earn wage increases along the way.
Bigfork Valley Communities: Bigfork Valley, an Eden Alternative facility in northern Minnesota, maintains a person-centered model of care by using career ladders, weekly team decision-making meetings, and a blended workforce in which frontline staff at all levels are trained as certified nursing assistants. These strategies have helped it reduce turnover and improve the quality of care.
Home Care Jobs are Being Overlooked: Minnesota Home Care Association CEO Neil Johnson provides a March 2010 guest commentary piece to Quality Care/Quality Jobs about the need to invest in home care workers.
Status and Trends in the Direct Support Workforce in Self-Directed Supports: In this 2010 article, Bogenschulz and colleagues describe the results of a survey of individuals participating in a consumer-directed model of care in Minnesota. They found considerable satisfaction among consumers, but also challenges in recruiting, retaining, and training direct support workers.
Evaluation Report: Personal Care Assistance (pdf): Minnesota’s Legislative Auditor released this 2009 evaluation of personal care services in the state during the period 2002-2007. The report includes recommendations for analysis of claims data, training for provider agencies and individuals responsible for assessing client needs, as well as identification of core areas for PCA training.
Defining the Direct-Care Worker in Nursing Facilities (pdf): This 2009 report, prepared by the Minnesota Department of Human Services and presented to the Minnesota legislature, analyzes direct-care staffing definitions used in nursing facilities, and recommends reclassifications to improve the integrity of direct-care staffing data.
Costs and Options for Insuring Minnesota’s Long-Term Care Workforce (word): This 2009 report, written for the Minnesota Department of Human Services, provides information and recommendations to the Legislature on options for providing health insurance coverage to long-term care workers in the state. It also provides cost estimates and other recommendations for how this coverage could be provided and funded.
Ready to Serve? PFund Foundation Report of the Aging Network and LGBT Older Adults (pdf): This report, issued by the University of Minnesota and the PFund Foundation in December 2010, includes results from a survey of 15 aging agency directors from Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota on LGBT-training for their workers. The report makes recommendations on how to address the needs of LGBT elders.
Recommendations for Minnesota’s Personal Care Assistance Program from Focus Groups of PCA Consumers and PCAs (pdf): This 2009 study by the Lewin Group and the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration presents findings from a series of focus-group discussions conducted with PCAs and PCA consumers throughout Minnesota. The report provides recommendations to the Department of Human Services to strengthen the infrastructure and improve the integrity of personal care assistance program services in Minnesota.