The Direct Care News 
For direct care workers and their allies March 13, 2012
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DOL Extends Comment Period Once More
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 | | Evelyn Coke |
Comments on the proposed home care rule are still pouring into the Department of Labor (DOL), which has extended its comment period through March 21.
More than 8,000 comments had been published as of this morning on the DOL comment submission web page, including one from Mary Schaffer, the mother of a 27-year-old man with autism and development disabilities. Ms. Schaffer praised the caregivers who allow her to keep her son with her at home, describing many as "wonderful people who chose to work with people with disabilities out of love." But, she said, low wages make it all but impossible for her son's caregivers to keep their cars and their households running, so they keep leaving for higher-paying jobs. "Our son doesn't deal well with new people and new experiences," she wrote. "He, and we, are constantly adjusting to new staff. Caregivers need better wages, more workforce protections and benefits and more respect for the crucial job they do."
If you haven't already submitted your comment, now's your chance. Go to the comment submission web page today and tell DOL why home care workers should get basic labor protections.
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Direct from Washington, DC
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House reschedules hearing on proposed home care rule: The House Committee on Education & the Workforce hearing on the proposed home care rule that was originally scheduled for last week is now set for 10 a.m. on March 20. The hearing, which will be held by the Workforce Protections subcommittee, will explore how the regulation would affect access to care. Learn more.
The Committee for Education Funding, the Coalition for Health Funding, and the Campaign to Invest in America's Workforce are seeking state and national organizations to sign onto a letter urging Congress to "provide the largest possible 302(b) allocation to the FY 2013 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee within the discretionary cap established by the Budget Control Act." To sign on, email Broderick Johnson (BJohnson@cef.org) with your name, full organization name (not just your acronym), and email address by March 15.
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Bright, Bright, Bright Sunshiny Day
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 | | David Moreau |
Toby races through the building
and I'm supposed to keep up.
That's the way it's always been.
He gets a two, three minute head start
if I'm helping lift Jean-Paul
or still assigned a lunch table
and if I don't track him down quickly
and he grabs stuff off someone's desk,
or marks up the bulletin board
or gets Sophie upset patting her head
then I'm to blame. We do it this way
so other staff don't have to deal with him.
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