Journal of Aging and Social Policy Vol. 11, No. 2/3
This essay offers a closer look of paraprofessional caregivers and the nature of their jobs, summarizes some of the public policies that currently shape the quality of paraprofessional work, and proposes possible steps that policymakers could adopt to start rebuilding our nation’s direct-care workforce. Recommendations include creating a federal interagency working group to examine sometimes conflicting public policies; requiring providers to report statistics on workforce turnover, training, and wages; requiring and supporting better training; changing reimbursement structures; and ensuring health insurance for health care workers.
