Home Care Cooperatives Spotlighted at White House Briefing
Direct Care Alliance Board Chair Tracy Dudzinski (pictured at right) was at the White House last Friday for a briefing on cooperatives. We talked to her about who was there and what they talked about.
Learn more about worker-owned home care cooperatives or download our free toolkit on our new web page.
Direct from Washington, DC
Transforming the way we care: Caring Across Generations (CAG) is hosting two Congressional briefings in the coming weeks. At 10 a.m. on Monday, May 14, speakers will discuss CAG's policy recommendations for creating quality jobs On Monday, May 21, at 11 a.m., people from across the country will share their personal stories about why we need to reform our long-term care system. Learn more about the briefings or RSVP.
May is Older Americans Month: Throughout the month of May, the U.S. Administration on Aging (AoA) celebrates older Americans and the contributions that they make to our communities and nation with Older Americans Month. This year's theme is Never Too Old to Play. AoA has launched a website that offers ideas about how to get involved, including upcoming events and activities that bring communities together.
Tracing the Link Between Low Reimbursement and High Turnover
Catholic Charities helps direct care workers get the government benefits their low pay qualifies them for.
An article in a leading publication for nonprofits recently detailed the challenges faced by long-term care employers who can't afford to pay direct care workers a living wage--and who must often deal with uncomfortably high turnover as a result.
In the April 29 issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Nicole Wallace explained how low government reimbursement rates lead to low wages and why well-intentioned employers often find the best they can do for their frontline employees is to help them get food stamps and other government benefits. Read her article, which we reposted with the permission of The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
The lead story in the May 1 issue of The Gazette describes a new Minnesota law that makes caregiver neglect a felony. The law allows employees without managerial or supervisory authority to prove that they neglected someone "because of inadequate staffing levels, inadequate supervision or institutional policies."
An article in the Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register details progress West Virginia is making in meeting the demands of a rapidly aging population--and the barriers that make it difficult to pay direct care workers a living wage.
The Direct Care Alliance is the national advocacy voice of direct care workers in long-term care. We empower workers to speak out for better wages, benefits, respect, and working conditions, so more people can commit to direct care as a career. We also convene powerful allies nationwide to build consensus for change.
Direct Care Alliance Board Chair Tracy Dudzinski (pictured at right) was at the White House last Friday for a briefing on cooperatives. We talked to her about who was there and what they talked about. 
