More than 1.3 million additional direct care professionals will be needed by 2030 to deliver supports and services to older adults and persons with disabilities. The following resources identify possible strategies for finding and retaining direct care professionals.
Federal Resources
- Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers— Emphasizes the importance of investing in the care workforce to improve health and educational outcomes (White House, 2023)
- Promising Recruitment and Retention Strategies — Explores provider strategies to increase recruitment and retention of direct support professionals (Administration for Community Living, 2021)
- Strengthening the Direct Service Workforce in Rural Areas— Summarizes the challenges of ensuring an adequate workforce and strategies that state Medicaid and partner agencies and rural stakeholders can use to deliver high-quality home and community-based services (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
- Recruitment, Assessment, and Retention in the Direct Care Workforce for Individuals With Criminal Records: A Comprehensive Model Approach— White paper that outlines how connecting previously incarcerated individuals to entry-level jobs in the health care industry can address workforce shortages, promote reintegration, and enhance public safety (Office of Justice Programs, 2021)
- COVID-19 Intensifies Home Care Workforce Challenges— Examines challenges home care agencies face regarding employee safety, turnover/retention, and COVID-19 (Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, 2021)
Other Resources
- Promoting Equity for the Direct Care Workforce— Webinar that explores how various types of systemic inequities have harmed direct care workers and how policy and practice leaders can promote equity and justice (PHI, 2022)
- The State of America’s Direct Support Workforce Crisis 2022— Data on the significant shortage of direct support professionals supporting people with I/DD (ANCOR, 2022)
- Placing a Higher Value on Direct Care Workers— Publication on employers and states experimenting with ways to recognize and reward direct care workers (The Commonwealth Fund, 2021)
- An Evaluation of a Multisite, Health Systems-Based Direct Care Worker Retention Program— Analysis of a study designed to reduce turnover of new caregivers (RAND Corporation, 2022)
- Supporting Direct Care Workers: Recruitment and Retention Strategies— Issue brief outlines promising strategies for recruiting and retaining direct care professionals (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2022)
- State Strategies for Sector Growth and Retention of the Direct Care Health Workforce— Issue brief provides a series of multi-sector state and employer strategies to address recruitment and health sector retention (National Governors Association, 2021)
- Direct Care Worker Equity Institute— Provides resources, studies, policy tools, and collaborations to improve workforce well-being and quality of care (PHI, 2022)
- Envisioning the Future of Home Care: Trends and Opportunities in Workforce Policy and Practice— Identifies opportunities for strengthening the home care workforce and improving access and quality (PHI, 2019)
- Feeling Valued Because They Are Valued: A Vision for Professionalizing the Caregiving Workforce in the Field of Long-Term Services and Supports— White paper offers six strategies for professionalizing the direct care workforce (LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston, 2021)
- Growing a Strong Direct Care Workforce: A Recruitment and Retention Guide for Employers— Provides a range of recruitment and retention strategies for employers (PHI, 2018)
- Localized Strategies for Addressing the Workforce Crisis in Home Care— Issue brief presents a range of localized strategies for strengthening the home care workforce, along with real-world examples (PHI, 2019)
- The Direct Care Workforce Crisis: Factors Affecting Employee Retention and Turnover Amidst a Pandemic— Examines employee demographics, historical context, and COVID-19's impact on turnover (ScholarWorks@GVSU, 2022)
- Research Survey Provides Insight Into Caregivers’ Technology Use— Survey of over 1,100 of their caregivers about how they utilize technology to access their benefits (SEIU 775 Benefits Group, 2023)
- States Use American Rescue Plan Act Funds To Strengthen Home- and Community-Based Service (HCBS) Workforce— Interactive map explores how states proposed using one-time funds to bolster the workforce that provides HCBS (National Academy for State Health Policy, 2022)
- State Policies To Strengthen the Direct Care Workforce— Webinar provides an overview of the policies in two states that improve the quality and supply of the direct care workforce and innovations (National Academy for State Health Policy, 2021)
- TennCare Workforce Initiative Toolkit: Assessing Retention Outcomes— Provides formulas for measuring tenure, turnover, vacancy rates, and the percent of employees who leave within six months of hire (Research & Training Center on Community Living, University of Minnesota, 2015)
- Direct Care Worker Survey and Focus Group Report— Summarizes findings from a survey and focus group with California in-home supports and services workers about challenges, interests, and preferences related to training and incentives (California Department of Aging)
- Spotlight on Minnesota: Direct Care Workers and Quality Jobs— Provides a statistical snapshot of direct care professionals in MN and considerations for strengthening this workforce (PHI, 2019)
- Spotlight on Wisconsin: Direct Care Workers and Quality Jobs— Provides a statistical snapshot of direct care professionals in WI and considerations for strengthening this workforce (PHI, 2019)
- Predictors of Annual Turnover Among Direct Support Professionals— Findings from a study of organizational and state-level factors from the National Core Indicators (NCI) Staff Stability Survey (Institute on Community Integration, 2021)
- Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Support for Immigrant Direct Care Workers— Discusses the crucial role of immigrants in our nation’s healthcare system and offers federal policy recommendations to support these workers and improve the long-term care sector (PHI, 2023)