Our Position

Direct-care employment plays a substantial but often unrecognized role in local economies and neighborhoods. By investing in direct-care jobs, state and federal policymakers can stimulate local economies, stem job loss, and stabilize low-income families.

In addition, employer partnerships and collaborations should be encouraged to disseminate evidence-based tools aimed at improving staff retention and reducing turnover.

What We’re Doing

• Analyzing the impact of the eldercare/disability services industry and direct-care jobs on the national economy and at the state level.
• Advocating for greater public investment in direct-care jobs as a means to stimulate economic growth and create jobs.
• Working with national partners to promote federal action and legislation that addresses the workforce challenges of the eldercare/disability services industry.
• Linking advocates and policy makers to employment and training resources for direct-care workers available through the public workforce investment system.
• Fostering sectoral partnerships that encourage employers to adopt human resource practices consistent with high-quality service delivery.
• Creating resources and metrics for employers to use to analyze their workforce investments.

Background

It is not well-known that the eldercare/disability services industry employs more people than nearly any other industry in America, and that the majority of jobs within this industry—direct-care jobs—are among the fastest-growing occupations in the country.

Improving the quality of these jobs is not only vital to our social infrastructure but, in many communities, these jobs also have the potential to drive economic growth. Given the sheer numbers of these occupations today and their tremendous expected growth, direct-care jobs are uniquely positioned to repair and stabilize our faltering economy.

Improving the quality of direct-care jobs is also essential for employers for whom turnover and retention problems among direct-care staff exact a high business cost from recruitment and training expenses, lost productivity, and even lost revenues. Currently, frontline turnover runs 40 to 60 percent in home care and nearly 70 percent in nursing homes. These marked levels of instability also jeopardize quality of care.

By investing in retention and lower turnover, employers can not only improves the quality of their services but also improves the financial health of their businesses.