The Direct Care News 
For direct care workers and their allies October 16, 2012
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Battle Lost, the Fight's Still on for Domestic Workers Rights in California
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 | | Katie Joaquin |
Personal attendants in California extend their hearts and their whole selves to care for the elderly and people with disabilities, yet they continue to be denied rights as basic as overtime pay and time to eat and sleep. By changing this, the California Domestic Workers Bill of Rights would have been a huge step towards establishing dignity and equality for this important workforce.
The California Senate and Assembly agreed that it was time to grant these basic protections to domestic workers and sent the bill to the Governor's desk, but on the evening of September 30, Governor Jerry Brown shocked us all by vetoing the bill. He decided to side with the Chamber of Commerce and big business rather than the 200,000 domestic workers who care for California's homes and families. Read more from Katie Joaquin.
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Direct from Washington, DC
|  Stronger federal guidance needed on personal care aide training: A recent PHI analysis of state training standards for personal care aides (PCAs) found that 23 states do not have training requirements for at least one publicly funded personal assistance program. Even in states that have training standards for PCAs, they vary widely. Findings from the analysis, which calls for strong federal guidance related to PCA training, were the subject of a Capitol Hill briefing on September 24.
Report documents fast-increasing need for long-term services and supports, continuing lag between supply and demand in home and community-based care: A new report from the AARP Public Policy Institute shows state and national data on long-term services and supports (LTSS) in the U.S. Across the States 2012: Profiles of Long-Term Services and Supports points out that the number of individuals age 85 or older will triple from 2012 to 2050, significantly increasing the demand for LTSS. The report also found that, although most people prefer to live at home and the typical cost for home and community-based services (HCBS) is about one third of the cost of institutional care, publicly funded nursing facility expenditures in 2009 were almost twice as high as HCBS expenditures, and 64 percent of Medicaid LTSS dollars for consumers went to nursing facility care.
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Arizona Direct Care Workers Get Education, Inspiration at Annual Conference
|  "The seminar about delirium was very helpful, since it hit close to home and gave me a better understanding on what to look out for," says Ramona Quiroga-Bowser. "The other seminars were great also--especially the keynote speaker at lunch!"
Ramona was one of about 100 direct care workers who attended the fifth annual Arizona direct care worker conference and celebration on October 10. The conference was hosted by the Arizona Direct Care Worker Association (ADCWA) and Arizona Gerontological Nursing Association. Read more from ADCWA member Timothy Doe.
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