The Direct Care News 
For direct care workers and their allies October 22, 2013
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Reports from the Field: A Fair in Maine, a Conference in Arizona
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 Direct Care Alliance of Maine Attends the Common Ground Fair: "Do you know about direct care workers?" That's the question we settle on at our table at the Common Ground Fair in Unity, Maine, as people stream by in the big Social Action tent where we set up shop from Friday, September 20, though Sunday the 22nd. Read more from David Moreau. Arizona Direct Care Worker Conference Stresses Self-Care, Client Care: September 25 was a day of good company, good food and great speakers for the direct care workers who attended the Arizona Direct Care Worker Association's sixth annual Care Worker Conference and Celebration. Read more from Sunny Smith.
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Direct from Washington, D.C.
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Federal Government Reopens: The 16-day partial shutdown of the U.S. government ended on October 17 when President Obama signed the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014. The bipartisan legislation includes a continuing resolution to fund the government that is effective retroactively from October 1, 2013, through January 15, 2014. It also extends the nation's debt limit through February 7, 2014, and creates a conference between the House and Senate to continue working on U.S. budget issues. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers returned to work and numerous programs of importance to low-income individuals--including many direct care workers and their families--can get back to normal operations. Learn more.
DCA Signs Letter Supporting Immigration Reform: DCA has signed onto a letter to the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives that supports the introduction of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (H.R. 15), addresses its strengths and weaknesses and urges the House to take action on comprehensive immigration reform that is reflective of the needs and contributions of women and families. The bill, which was introduced on October 2, 2013, by Representative Garcia (D-FL) and which has 182 cosponsors, is based on the U.S. Senate's comprehensive immigration bill (S. 744), which passed with strong bipartisan support in June 2013. Immigration reform could offer significant benefits to thousands of direct care workers nationwide.
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Federal Employees: Here's an Easy Way to Give to DCA
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 The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is the world's largest and most successful workplace charity campaign. Every year, federal civilian, postal and military donors pledge millions of dollars to the campaign, supporting charities across the country. Direct Care Alliance is thrilled to be a CFC-approved charity this year. If you are a federal employee, please consider making your CFC contribution to DCA. Read more.
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Get Direct Care Workers Covered
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 | | Hadas (right) doing outreach |
New York State of Health, New York's healthcare marketplace, is up and running--and so is Get Direct Care Workers Covered, DCA's campaign to provide information and enrollment assistance to direct care workers and others in New York! If you'd like assistance with enrollment, would like to set up an informational event at your agency or organization, or would like to volunteer with the campaign, please visit our Get Direct Care Workers Covered web page and contact Hadas Thier.
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Standing up for Myself and My Fellow Workers by Joining DCA
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 | | Mohan Varghese |
The first time I contacted Direct Care Alliance was after I was told by my employer that I would be accompanying him on the road for trips that lasted several days and would be paid for only 12 hours a day of my time. My immediate thought was: I will contact the Department of Labor (DOL) and they will take care of it.
But when I contacted DOL, I learned that they could not help because we home care workers were shut out of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act under the companionship exemption. I searched online to find a way to stand up for myself and my fellow workers, who put in long hard hours doing skilled tasks only to be mischaracterized as companions or elder sitters. I found DCA during my search. Read more from Mohan Varghese.
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