Seniors and people with disabilities deserve quality long-term services and supports. Unfortunately, that care is often compromised. Poor working conditions for the people who provide personal assistance and other services impede their ability to provide the quality of care our loved ones deserve.

Most direct care workers earn low wages and receive few benefits such as health insurance. This combined with difficult working conditions and insufficient training and support leads consumers to high turnover rates that jeopardize both the quality and continuity of care for consumers. Now is the time to develop new and innovative ways to ensure a stable, quality workforce. Innovations will strengthen care-giving relationships, develop workers’ abilities and promote a “culture of staff retention.”

Solution: A Demonstration to Improve Quality by Improving Jobs

The Quality Care Through Quality Jobs Demonstration Initiative would generate innovations in long-term care systems and practices -- within both home and facility-based support and health services -- to improve the quality of care for consumers and the quality of jobs for direct care workers.

Improving the quality of long-term support and services requires innovative new thinking. The Quality Care Through Quality Jobs Act provides states with the opportunity to make quality care happen.

Check back here for updates as the bill is introduced in 2003.

For more information contact the Paraprofessional Health Institute at Hturnham@aol.com or 517-327-0331 or visit: www.paraprofessional.org