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For direct care workers and their allies
 
September 4, 2012

Labor Day Weekend Editorials Celebrate Workers, Call for Needed Changes 

Lateef McLeod
Lateef McLeod
An editorial in Friday's Huffington Post kicked off a Labor Day weekend in which publications nationwide ran opinion pieces about the progress made by American workers and the distance we still need to travel.

The Huffington Post piece, which is titled "Let's Not Make Home Care Workers Wait Any Longer for Their Rights," is by poet and blogger Lateef McLeod, who has cerebral palsy and has employed home care workers for most of his life. He calls on his readers to join him in urging the Obama Administration to extend Fair Labor Standards Act protections to home care workers without further delay. Read more from Lateef and others who celebrated workers on Labor Day weekend.

Direct from Washington, DC 

Capitol HIll

States' decisions about Medicaid expansion will significantly affect direct care workers: The Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA, also known as health reform and Obamacare) included a requirement for states to expand Medicaid to people with very low incomes who are not currently eligible. However, as part its June 2012 decision on the ACA, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states can opt out of Medicaid expansion. As a result, some governors say they will not expand Medicaid in their states. Based on current estimates of states that won't expand Medicaid, about half of the direct care workers who would have been eligible for Medicaid under expansion could now be denied coverage. Contact your governor's office to tell them you support Medicaid expansion in your state, learn more about how this issue affects your state, or learn how Medicaid expansion would benefit your state. 
Direct Care Work and the Circle of Life
fermina Lopez not blurry (use this one)
Fermina Lopez
I was born in Sinaloa, Mexico, where I lived until about 20 years ago. I was an accountant there, working as the administrative manager for a supermarket.

I came here for the American dream, to make a better life for my family. I have five children. Almost as soon as I started working here I earned more than I ever had.

It was hard to find a job when we first came here. I had to take the thing I could get, and the first thing I got was direct care work. My goal at the time was to go to college and get a good education so I could get the kind of job I had had back in Mexico, but as time passed and I kept working as a caregiver, I started loving my job. You get so involved with the people you care for. I don't want to leave them. Read more from Fermina Lopez.

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Direct from the Headlines
Join The Consumer Voice this Friday for a Facebook First Friday titled Quality Home Care: Making it Work. To participate, "Like" their Facebook page and then check in between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. EDT on September 7 to join the discussion.

A curious citizen interviews a woman in her neighborhood about her work as a personal care assistant.

A study finds that nursing home deficiency citations for hand hygiene lapses are linked to low staffing.

AARP and the Ad Council have launched a public service advertising (PSA) campaign to let family caregivers know they are not alone.
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. 

Questions? Comments? Story ideas? Please contact Elise Nakhnikian at 646-823-7434 or enakhnikian@directcarealliance.org.