Louisiana

Project Title: Louisiana Workforce Development Initiative

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals faces some unique challenges in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Its DSW related initiatives include both ongoing projects and responses to new issues. Louisiana will examine wage and benefit opportunities to implement the most promising practice, develop recruitment programs to meet demand for DSWs, expand utilization of “Career Pathways” for DSWs, and identify short-term interventions via a focused study on wages to address immediate shortage of DSWs in areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina.

The National Direct Service Workforce Resource Center will be providing Louisiana with intensive technical assistance with the following tasks:

• Providing research and contacts in other states detailing promising practices (method & funding strategy) to increase DSW wages, including an effective way to tie rate increases to wage increases and improved performance; the experience of other states in implementing wage pass-through legislation; how to tie wage increases to skills and training (career ladder) and the ability to pay direct service workers different rates in according to their demonstrated competencies; how to adjust the disparity in state versus private DSW pay per the Louisiana study; and how to provide benefits to private sector DSWs.
• Attending Workforce Development Committee meetings via phone in order to assist the committee with evaluating targeted research, provide TA regarding design an implementation or pilot program, provide TA regarding designing an evaluation strategy for the implementation or pilot program, and provide TA regarding conducting or analyzing the evaluation of the implementation or pilot program.
• Providing research and contacts in other state or private agencies detailing promising practice in funding recruitment programs identified as marketable by Louisiana stakeholders. Current examples include, but are not limited to: dedicated training, scholarships and/or financial aid, career development programs, and peer mentoring.
  
• In telephone consultations, provide an evaluation of the current marketing strategy for Career Pathways, including identification of opportunities and barriers, suggest strategies to build awareness of Career Pathways, and suggest strategies to increase participation in Career Pathways. Particular areas of concern include obtaining provider buy-in, exploring a connection between workman’s compensation and liability insurance rates and level of training, and providing some training modules on-line.
• In telephone consultations scheduled between August and December, provide assistance to the Ad Hoc Workgroup addressing Hurricane Katrina issues in identifying data elements needed to determine a target wage for DSW recruitment and retention in Hurricane Katrina impact areas, assistance in designing a collection method for identified data elements, and assistance in developing brief training or instructions for data collection.
• Provide on-site guidance to staff working to analyze data gathered in the study of target wages, recommendations regarding methods of determination of a target wage, and constructive comments on design and data formatting for presentation to key stakeholders and decision makers (e.g., State legislative body, DHH policy makers, CMS, federal agencies, others) .

Populations Served: Aging, MR/DD, Physical Disabilities

For More Information Contact:

Loida Kellgren

Office of Aging and Adult Services

Bienville Building

628 N 4th Street, 2nd Floor

Bin# 14

Baton Rouge, LA 70802

Ph.: 225/219-0214

Fax: 225/219-0202

lkellgren@dhh.la.gov