It is not too early to think about the upcoming tax season and ways that direct-care workers can get a bigger refund and keep more of their money at tax time. Read the full story

Tameshia Bridges

By Tameshia Bridges, Michigan Senior Workforce Advocate

This tax year, PHI’s Michigan office launched the Earn, Keep, Save MORE outreach campaign, an effort to increase income for direct-care workers. The campaign equipped employers with information and resources they could use to educate their staff about federal and state earned income tax credits (EITC) and free tax preparation services available in the community.

The EITC provides an important opportunity for low-wage workers to build economic assets. Through the EITC, direct-care workers in Michigan can receive tax credits ranging from a few hundred dollars — to over $5000. Yet many workers don’t apply because they are unaware that they are eligible for these state and federal benefits. Read the full story

PHI has released a fact sheet on Michigan’s direct-care workforce (pdf). The eight-page document reveals that while demand for workers  is at a historic high and growing, the labor pool is shrinking and poor job quality is adding to the difficulty of attracting and keeping new workers.

These factors, warns the fact sheet, are leading to a potential workforce crisis for the long-term care industry and the families who rely on long-term care services and supports.

Some key facts from the report:

• Roughly a quarter of the state‘s direct-care workers do not have any health insurance.
• A third of Michigan’s direct-care workers live in households that rely on some kind of public benefits, such as Medicaid or food stamps.
• In 2007, the average Michigan direct-care worker received an annual income of $16,446.

“The problem for Michigan,” says PHI Midwest Director Hollis Turnham,
“is that the low wages earned by most  direct-care workers put these jobs at income levels that do not support a family.

“Greater investment in direct-care jobs would make them more attractive to workers from shrinking industries like manufacturing, helping to keep Michigan residents employed here — rather than moving out of state.”

The document concludes with five policy recommendations for improving Michigan’s direct-care jobs including increasing wages, improving training, and improving access to health benefits.

Direct-care workers in Michigan could keep up to $5,306 at tax time  through the state and federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

To encourage workers to take advantage of the credits, PHI Michigan has launched a campaign called “Earn, Keep, Save  MORE.”

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Carol Rodat (pictured), PHI’s New York Policy Director, was the keynote speaker at the Ithaca College Gerontology Institute’s Annual Conference on September 18.

Her address, titled “The Workforce Crisis in Long Term Care: Proven Tools to Help Meet the Challenge,” laid out the demographic imperative for improving the quality of direct-care jobs through evidence-based practices that improve retention. Read the full story

Are rising gas prices making it harder for you to deliver or receive care? Add your comments at the end of this post. 

We all feel the pinch from high gas prices, but for home care workers it’s more of a punch. As PHI President Steven Dawson puts it: “The doubling of gas prices over the past few years has been like a pay cut for many home care workers — particularly those serving clients in rural areas.

“Policy makers like to believe that home care is cheaper than nursing homes, but that’s only true because home care workers are paid less than nursing home workers, often without health benefits,” adds Dawson. “There’s not much good to say about higher gas prices, except perhaps that they will now force policy makers to look more closely at the real costs of shifting toward home-based care, and in response create realistic reimbursement policies that will offer home care workers a true livable wage and benefits.”

When PHI’s Michigan State Director Hollis Turnham wrote about the home care gas crisis in our blog in June, talking about the problems she was already hearing about, anticipating others, and asking what other people were experiencing, the response was swift and impassioned. An employer called rising gas prices “the 500 lb gorilla in the room for home care agencies.” A home care worker talked about seeing turnover increase and “looking for something closer to home myself.” The head of a home care and hospice aide recruitment agency said he planned to do “something very tangible to address this issue,” though he wasn’t ready yet to say just what. 

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