The Direct Care News 
For direct care workers and their allies April 8, 2014
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Join us on Twitter to Talk About Equal Pay for Women
| Let's keep the Equal Pay Day conversation going! Join Direct Care Alliance, 9to5 and National Partnership for Women & Families April 16 from 2 to 3PM ET on Twitter for a tweet chat about equal pay for women. Share your story about being underpaid, tell us your thoughts about why we must improve direct care wages, learn about policy solutions, and more. Use hashtag #fairpay to join the conversation.
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Speaking Up for the Profession I Love
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 | | Peg Ankney |
About a month ago, DCA's Jessica Brill Ortiz invited me to attend a March 25 advocacy day in Washington DC. The day was organized by Caring Across Generations, a movement of family members, workers, and others advocating for a system of quality, dignified care. I did some work with Caring Across last year through DCA, which is a member of their leadership team. I was impressed by their ethics and the work they are doing to improve our long-term care system, for both consumers and workers.
I wanted to visit the Capitol because of what I have already been experiencing in my state of Pennsylvania--and I am definitely not alone! Read more from home care worker Peg Ankney.
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Direct from Washington, D.C.
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Urge Congress to Support the Paycheck Fairness Act for Equal Pay Day: Today is Equal Pay Day, the day women must work until to match what men earned last year. Women in the U.S. are paid just 77 cents for every dollar paid to men, and the disparity is even greater for African American and Latina women. The Senate is expected to vote today on the Paycheck Fairness Act (S.84/H.R.377) which was introduced last year by U.S. Senator Mikulski (D-MD) and U.S. Representative DeLauro (D-CT). Get involved by urging your senators to support this bill, whose passage would be an important step in helping women challenge and eliminate discriminatory pay practices. Equal Pay Day is an important opportunity to recommit to achieving economic equality for everyone--including direct care workers, the majority of whom are women and who average just over $10 an hour nationwide.
2015 House Budget Committee Budget Includes Cuts to Vital Programs: Last Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee approved the House Republican fiscal year 2015 budget, which was released the day before by Committee Chairman Ryan (R-WI). The proposal cuts more than $5 trillion in federal spending over the next decade in a variety of areas, many of which provide crucial health and economic support for millions of Americans, including direct care workers and their families. Examples include cuts to health care subsidies, coverage under the Affordable Care Act and programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as food stamps). The House will consider the budget resolution on the floor this week.
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New Mexico Uses DCA Credential to Help Caregivers Prove Skills, Knowledge
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 | | Adrienne Smith |
While certified nursing assistants and home health aides have to take at least 75 hours of training and pass a certification exam to prove their fitness for the job, there is no federally mandated educational program or credential exam for personal or home care workers. To help fill that gap, Direct Care Alliance developed the Personal Care and Support Credential in 2011. The credential measures the eight core areas every caregiver should know in order to perform his/her job at the highest levels, giving workers a way to prove their skills and knowledge and employers a way to evaluate potential caregivers. In 2012, the New Mexico Direct Caregivers Coalition (NMDCC), a statewide organization that advocates for caregivers, negotiated a partnership with DCA to administer the credential. Read more from NMDCC's Adrienne Smith.
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Get Direct Care Workers Covered
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 The first open enrollment period for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act ended on March 31. The next begins on November 15, but those who are eligible for Medicaid or Child Health Plus, or who have special qualifying events, can still sign up. And most people who started their applications by the March 31 deadline but have not yet completed them have until April 15 to finish. Direct Care Alliance can provide information and enrollment assistance through this process. Our work is funded through a grant, so there is no cost to you for our assistance. Visit our Get Direct Care Workers Covered web pages to learn more or share your story about getting insured. |
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Fight for Direct Care Worker Raises Gaining Ground in Minnesota
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 | | Bridget Siljander |
Minnesota caregivers--also known as direct care workers or direct support professionals--have been fighting for many years to get the support that they need to continue doing the work that they love. Now that fight is gaining momentum in a big way, thanks to the 5% Campaign the Minnesota disability community is uniting around.
The campaign is asking legislators for a 5% increase in funding for home and community-based services, 75% of which will go toward compensating caregivers. The funding would go to two state programs: Home and Community-Based Services and Intermediate Care Facilities for Developmental Disabilities. Read more from Bridget Siljander.
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