Grant
Information
Name of Grantee
NC
Department of Health and Human Services
Title of Grant
Direct
Care Workforce Recruitment and Retention
Type of Grant
Real
Choice Systems Change
Amount of Grant
$1,600,000
Year Original Funding
Received
2001
Completed
Contact
Information
Jackie Sheppard, Assistant Secretary
919-733-4534
Jackie.sheppard@ncmail.net
Jan Moxley, Project Manager
NC Department of Health and Human Services
Office of Long-term Care
2001 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-2001
919-855-4429
Jan.Moxley@ncmail.net
Subcontractor(s)
Direct Care Workers Association of
Janet McQueen
919-715-3952
Polly Johnson
919-782-3211
McGlynn and Associates
Maggie McGlynn
919-968-7953
Target
Population(s)
All populations needing home and community based services.
Goals
Activities
Abstract
Grant activities will focus on several major areas:
reducing institutional bias, developing a career ladder for direct care
workers; implementing public education and awareness efforts to promote
recruitment and retention of direct care workers; and designing a
consumer-directed care model and related accountability requirements,
reimbursement policies, and policies covering fiscal intermediaries for
clients.
Addressing direct care workforce issues will require a multipronged approach. Our project will develop
competency-based training models (e.g., working with persons with complex
medical needs, developmental disabilities, dementia, and other cognitive
impairments; and developing skills in mentoring, supervision, effective
communication, etc.). We will develop curricula and in-service and continuing
education programs in support of core and specialized training (including
supervisory training and mentoring) and develop appropriate training outlets,
opportunities for Web-based training, etc.
To recruit and retain direct care workers, it is necessary
to enhance the image of this workforce. We will implement a range of public
education and awareness efforts to promote information about direct care worker
opportunities (paid and volunteer) focused on home and community care. These
efforts will include the development of promotional and training materials for
use in high school allied health programs. We will also convene a Task Force of
direct care staff to get input on recruitment, retention, and marketing
efforts; develop public service announcements, video spots, feature articles,
and flyers for use with the media, general public, high schools, Hispanic and
nontraditional populations, disabled populations, Job Corps, etc.; and
participate in job fairs to address the image and importance of this workforce.
Additionally, we will promote the development of a direct care worker
association in the State and help the association to transition to a
freestanding organization by the end of the grant. We will also compile and
disseminate information about innovative strategies being used to address
recruiting and retaining direct care workers.
We will collect and analyze data about the direct care
workforce that will inform our efforts to recruit and retain workers.