Year of Grant Award:
2004
Project Title:
Community Care Attendant Resources & Education (C-CARE)
Grantee:
Arkansas Department of Human Services
Primary Grantee Contact:
Kris Baldwin
Project Director, Dept. of Human Services
Hypotheses:
1. People with disabilities and older people are a viable source from which to recruit and retain DSWs.
2. By training people with disabilities and older individuals as DSWS, C-CARE can promote their successful entry into the field.
3. Retention of DSWs is directly affected by the skill of their supervisors.
4. A Web-based DSW registry can serve as an employment aid for DSWs seeking work and would benefit individual consumers and provider agencies seeking employees.
Interventions:
1. Recruit and train people with disabilities and elders to become DSWs.
2.
Develop, implement and maintain a back up pool
of specially trained workers, to be hired by provider agencies and individual
consumers in
3. Offer supervisory training to personal care provider agencies' staff as well as individual customers.
4. Establish and maintain a web based statewide worker registry for use by consumers and agency providers.
5. Develop and implement a marketing campaign to aid recruitment and make people aware of C-CARE and what it offers to the community.
Evaluator:
Cindy
Young
Year of Grant Award:
2003
Project Title:
Recruitment and Retention of Direct Support Workers: A Values-Based Approach
Grantee:
Primary Grantee Contact:
Mark Bernstein
Project Director,
Hypothesis:
The hypothesis of the
Interventions:
1. Promote positive image of DSW position in order to attract more applicants to the field of disabilities.
2. Establish partnerships with educational institutions as natural links for recruitment of employees in the disabilities field.
3. Develop and implement an orientation and mentoring program for new employees entering the organization.
4. Establish a career ladder for employees based on longevity and participation in training seminars, using a values-based approach.
5. Implement innovative supervisory training and individualized coaching to both employees and people with disabilities who are supervising others, using a values-based approach.
Evaluators:
Mark
Bernstein and Renee Bean
Year of Grant Award:
2004
Project Title:
Demonstration to Improve the DS Community Workforce to Support the Needs of People with Disabilities in the Community
Grantee:
Arc BRIDGES, Inc. in
Primary Grantee Contact:
Debra Irving-Holley
DSW Project Director, Arc BRIDGES, Inc.
Hypothesis:
The proposed interventions will decrease turnover by 15%, increase applicants accepting positions by 20%, improve training and worker recognition, increase employee satisfaction, inspire public policy changes in support of higher wages and better benefits for DSPs, and improve client care and client satisfaction.
Interventions:
1. Market agency’s cafeteria plan insurance benefits to direct care workers. Employees can use this $50 per month benefit to pay their share of the agency sponsored health insurance program, on dental care, vision care, short-term disability, life insurance, accident insurance, 3 days additional vacation time, or child care.
2. Implement career ladder, offering employees training and pay incentive ($.10 per hour increase) for completion of each training module.
3. Provide travel allowance/mileage reimbursement for Residential and Supported Living DSPs.
4. Implement mentoring program to support the Residential and Supported Living DSPs. Each mentor will be awarded $500 annually for participation.
5. Offer recruitment bonuses for workers who refer new employees and retention bonuses to new employees upon completion of six months of employment.
6.
Encourage continuing education among DSPs
through partnership with
7. Promote change in public policy regarding the direct service workforce and job restructuring for direct care workers.
Evaluator:
Richard Hug
Year of Grant Award:
2004
Project Title:
Support Providing Employees' Association of
Grantee:
Seven Counties Services, Inc.
Primary Grantee Contact:
Sandra A. Mlinarcik
Project Director, Seven Counties Services, Inc.
Hypotheses:
1. Pre-service orientation that focuses on personal interactions will increase retainment of DSWs beyond probationary period of 3 months.
2. An apprenticeship period that focuses on problem-solving competencies will extend the retainment of DSWs beyond 6 months.
3. Connection to broad array of community supports will help stabilize the personal lives of DSWs and contribute to sustained employment for 18 months or more.
4. Regional collaboration on behalf of DSWs will attract new partners to membership in SPEAK as a result of reduced turnover rates and improved quality of care.
Interventions:
1. Institute pre-service orientation / realistic job preview process for job candidates.
2. Design and implement extended apprenticeship program for new employees.
3. Offer workers benefits of membership in Support Providing Employee’s Association of Kentucky (SPEAK).
4.
Conduct public education campaign about SPEAK
and the importance of DSWs.
Evaluator:
Harold
Kleinert
Year of Grant Award:
2003
Project Title:
From Workers to Professionals: Improving Retention Through Targeted Training and Educational Opportunities
Grantee:
Volunteers of America, Inc. (VOA)
Primary Grantee Contact:
Angela King
National Project Director, VOA National
Hypothesis:
The working hypothesis of the VOA
demonstration evaluators is that completion of
competency-based training plus cash
bonuses will decrease DSW turnover and improve the quality of services
delivered by such staff. Furthermore, preparing and supporting supervisors to
focus their supervisory behavior on staff performance relative to the topics covered
in the competency-based training will result in further enhancement of DSW
performance, and consequently further reduce staff turnover while increasing
consumer satisfaction.
Interventions:
1.
Offer in-house
worker training + $275 bonus for successful completion.
2.
Offer a
“Technical Competency Area in Direct Support Professions” program consisting of
12 hours of community college credit + $1,000 bonus for successful completion
of the program.
3.
Train
and support supervisory staff to implement targeted supervision procedures.
4.
Replicate
and expand interventions to 14 other VOA locations.
Evaluator:
Phil Wilson
Year of Grant Award:
2003
Project Title:
Providing Health Coverage and Other Services to Recruit and
Retain Direct Service Community Workers in
Grantee:
Governor's Office of Health Policy and Finance
Primary Grantee Contact:
Elise Scala
Project Director, Muskie
Hypotheses:
The hypothesis of the
Interventions:
1.
Offer affordable and subsidized health coverage
through
2. Develop and deliver package of workplace services designed to make employers an "Employer of Choice."
3. Design an incentive payment for employers who improve retention rates and other workplace indicators.
Evaluators:
Paul Saucier and Lisa Morris
Muskie
Year of Grant Award:
2003
Project Title:
State of
Grantee:
New Mexico Department of Health Long Term Care Services Division
Primary Grantee Contact:
Barbara Ibanez
Project Director
Hypothesis:
Improving direct service staff access to health insurance will improve staff retention and recruitment of direct service staff.
Intervention:
Evaluator:
Tony Cahill
Year of Grant Award:
2003
Project Title:
Caregivers are Professionals, Too (CAPT)
Grantee:
Pathways for the Future, Inc.
Primary Grantee Contact:
Linda Kendall Fields, LH Kendall Consulting Services
CAPT Project Director
Hypothesis:
The project hypothesis is that the
recruitment and retention of direct service workers will continue to be
problematic until and unless they receive adequate compensation, recognition, and
opportunity for advancement. Because direct service workers do not consider
themselves “professionals,” they feel little loyalty to their jobs.
Interventions:
1. Provision of affordable health insurance through subsidized employee premiums for all eligible direct service workers.
2. Implement a career ladder, including other continuing education and career advancement opportunities.
3. Implement a merit-based recognition program.
Evaluators:
John Sherlock and Grant Morgan
Year of Grant Award:
2004
Project Title:
Recognition, Respect, and Responsibility: Transforming the Ethos of the Direct Service Community Workforce
Grantee:
Primary Grantee Contact:
Teja Stokes
Project Director, DMAS
Hypotheses:
1. Personal care agencies will be better able to retain personal care aids due to the availability of health coverage program.
2. Job satisfaction and commitment to career will increase among DSWs who complete training and retention will improve at agencies that implement enhanced training opportunities.
3. The recruitment program will be successful in recruiting undergrads, high school students, former caregivers, and persons with disabilities to the job of direct service providers.
Interventions:
1. Pay employee portion of Employer Sponsored Health Insurance Program (ESHI) for 90-100 workers to enable their families to be covered by the agency’s group health insurance.
2.
Continue training opportunities for DSWs through
the
3. Offer two training opportunities for supervisors.
4. Offer half-day training session for family members, offering respite care vouchers to care for family members while they attend the training.
5. Recruit high schools students and university students (VCU and NOVA) to be trained and work as DSWs (Life Long Health Careers Initiative).
6. Recruit family caregivers and respite care workers to become DSWs
7. Recruit people with disabilities to become DSWs.
8. Recruit TANF participants, low-income adults, and displaced workers through SkillSource Centers.
9. Implement marketing campaign to promote jobs in the direct care field.
Evaluators:
Parthy Dinora
Partnership for People with Disabilities
Connie Coogle
Year of Grant Award:
2004
Project Title:
Grantee:
Washington State Home Care Quality Authority (HCQA)
Primary grantee point of contact:
Mindy Schaffner
Executive Director, HCQA
Hypothesis:
Workers can best be recruited and retained through a supportive work environment that promotes the health and well-being of the worker and his or her family. Also, it is hypothesized that measures that have been found to increase recruitment and retention of other health care workers will work with this population of workers as well.
Interventions:
1. Operate worker referral registry that will match worker skills, training and abilities with consumer needs and preferences and increase current and prospective worker knowledge of in-home care job opportunities.
2. Assist workers through Referral Workforce Resource Centers in obtaining state health insurance coverage.
3. Offer training for workers and consumer-supervisors through the Referral Workforce Resource Centers.
4. Offer peer mentorship program through the Referral Workforce Resource Centers.
5. Offer professional development opportunities through the Referral Workforce Resource Centers.
6. Offer apprenticeship program through the Referral Workforce Resource Centers.
Evaluators:
Dave Pavelchek
Jane Wood
Home Care Quality Authority