The following is a list of PAS Workforce resources related to Washington.
The list is provided and maintained by the National
Clearinghouse on the Direct Care Workforce. Each citation contains
an abstract and information about how to obtain the entire version.
McKnew, Mary. (Summer 1999). We choose independence. Washington Protection and Advocacy System.
Abstract:
This paper uses individual testimony by people with disabilities who use personal assistance services (PAS) to illustrate common barriers to service and suggest ways to improve access to and quality of PAS in Washington State. Suggestions include improving the quality of the PA job, providing supervisory training for consumers who employ PAs, and involving consumers in PA training.
Obtain the Full Version: To order this publication, contact Gillian Maguire, Director of Resource Advocacy, at gillianm@wpas-rights.org or 1-800-562-2702.
Boyd, Charlene. (September 1994). Residents first: A long-term care facility introduces a social model that puts residents in control. Health Progress. The Catholic Health Association of the United States.
Abstract:
In 1990, Providence Mount St. Vincent decided to rewrite its mission statement and discard the traditional medical model of long-term care for a new model: an environment directed by residents.
Obtain the Full Version: To get a copy of this article, go to:
http://www.chausa.org/PUBS/PUBSCONT.ASP?ISSUE=HP9409
Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. (March 2004). Chart of direct-care workforce activities in Washington.
Abstract:
This chart describes existing or enacted direct-care workforce initiatives in this state as of March 2004. The information was collected as part of a national survey of state initiatives on the long-term care direct-care workforce. Additional details about this state may be found in the full report.
Gillespie, Jennifer. (2003). Direct-care worker associations and public authorities. National Academy for State Health Policy, Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Abstract:
States and long-term care consumers, workers, and employers are seeking ways to address the growing demand for a high quality and stable long-term care workforce. Direct-care worker associations and public authorities have emerged to address this issue through outreach, advocacy, support, and training. This issue brief provides a snapshot of associations and public authorities, and includes related website links.
Schneider, Stu. (September/October 2003). Victories for home health care workers: Home care workers get organized. Dollars & Sense.
Abstract:
This article outlines home health workers' efforts to organize in California, Oregon, and Washington under a 'public authority' model. The author describes the public authority model that was originally developed in California and how the model has spread to Washington state, and more recently Oregon. Under a public authority model, workers have collective bargaining rights. Union organization under the public authority model has had significant impact on wages and benefits for home care workers.
Obtain the Full Version: Contact Dollars & Sense the progressive economics magazine, for permission to reprint or distribute this article.
Available at the National Clearinghouse on the Direct Care Workforce website: http://www.directcareclearinghouse.org/download/homehealthcare.pdf
Service Employees International Union. (February 2005). Working together for quality personal care. Service Employees International Union.
Abstract:
This paper explores SEIU's efforts to address workforce issues within consumer-directed programs for personal care workers in California, Michigan, Oregon, and Washington. The authors give a brief background of the rising demand for consumer-directed personal care services, describe the development of consumer-directed workforce boards in the states where SEIU has been involved, and provide detailed information about workforce advancements that have been made in California.
Washington State Referral and Workforce Resource Center. (May 2005). Washington state peer mentor program.
Abstract:
This peer mentor manual was created by the Washington state home care quality authority (HCQA) to support peer mentors in their role as leaders for new caregivers. The program is a pilot project that is funded by a grant from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Its goals are to give tangible supports and resources to mentees, develop the competencies of mentors and mentees, offer mentors the opportunity to be leaders, and increase the retention of caregivers through formal and informal supports.
Center for Health Workforce Distribution Studies, University of Washington, Seattle. (November 2004). Effects of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 on health workforce development in the states. Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration.
Abstract:
The goals of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) are to increase the employment, retention, and earnings of participants in Department of Labor (DOL) employment and training programs. This report explores how WIA resources have been used to support the healthcare workforce across the states, including, but not limited to, the direct-care workforce.
Washington Home Care Quality Authority. (March 2006). A preliminary analysis of the professional development program in six Washington counties.
Abstract:
This report examines the initial results of a professional development program launched in six Washington state counties to improve retention of home care workers through opportunities in continuing education. Surveys conducted with 24 participants found a high degree of satisfaction with the program. The authors recommend continuing the program and conducting more surveys to determine whether the program increases retention rates or improves care quality.
Washington Home Care Quality Authority. (March 2006). A preliminary analysis of the peer mentor program in nine Washington counties.
Abstract:
In May 2005, Referral and Workforce Resource Centers serving nine counties in Washington developed peer mentoring programs in an effort to increase retention of home care workers. This report summarizes the results of phone surveys conducted with participants and data culled from mentor logs, which were overwhelmingly positive about the program. The authors recommend further advertising for the program and its expansion to the entire state.
Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI). (April 2006). CMS direct service workforce demonstration grants: Overview and discussion of health coverage interventions. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Abstract:
This report provides an overview of the efforts of six Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) grantees to make health care coverage more affordable and accessible to direct-care workers. It discusses the key advantages and disadvantages of three approaches employed by grantees: subsidization of employer-based coverage, combining basic insurance and tax-free accounts, and funding outreach programs, which promote public-private partnerships. An attached spreadsheet provides a description of each intervention, identifying key components, costs, and their potential sustainability.
Mareschal, Patrice M. (Spring 2006). Innovation and adaptation: Contrasting efforts to organize home care workers in four states. Labor Studies Journal.
Abstract:
This paper chronicles the SEIU's efforts to organize home care workers in California, Oregon, Washington, and New York. Through interviews and secondary sources, the article compares political and organizing strategies employed across the states. The author argues that SEIU's efforts offer an example of how the labor movement can achieve organizing successes.
Obtain the Full Version: To view the full document, vist Project Muse website. This article is available through Project MUSE, an electronic journals collection made available to subscribing libraries.
McDonald, Ingrid and Glen Scott Davis. (February, 2007). The SEIU 775 long-term care training, support & career development network: A blue print for the future. PHI and 1199 SEIU Training and Education Fund.
Abstract:
This paper describes the development and vision for an SEIU-initiated network, which will provide training, on-the-job support, and career development services for long-term care workers. It describes the services that SEIU's network will offer, including entry level training, peer mentoring, an apprenticeship program, adult education, and a ''caring for the caregiver'' workshop series. It also makes recommendations about the funding and organizational structure of the network.
McDonald, Ingrid J. (March 2007). Comprehensive health coverage for consumer-directed home care workers; Case study: Washington State. Health Care for Health Care Workers.
Abstract:
This case study describes the establishment of a Washington State multi-employer trust, which provides health benefits to home care workers. The report outlines eligibility requirements, benefits and costs of coverage, and then explores the lower than predicted enrollment rates. Many workers do not meet eligibility requirements or are eligible but unaware that coverage is available. The report concludes that while improvements can be made, the program meets nearly all design features necessary for quality coverage.
McDonald, Ingrid. (January 2007). Emerging strategies for providing health coverage to the frontline workforce in long term care. Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI) and the Lewin Group.
Abstract:
This paper provides an overview of health coverage interventions tested by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services direct service workforce grantees. Four case studies in North Carolina, New Mexico, Maine, and Washington State are examined and individually assessed. The author then draws out common challenges, key design features necessary for success in providing health coverage to the direct-care workforce, and concludes with a discussion of policy implications in addressing these issues.
University of Minnesota, Research and Training Center on Community Living and The Lewin Group. (December 2006). CMS direct service workforce demonstration promising practices in marketing, recruitment and selection interventions. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Abstract:
This report identifies promising practices in direct care worker marketing, recruitment, and selection in states receiving Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) grants. Grantees used different techniques to improve recruitment and retention outcomes, including computer-based registration, marketing campaigns, realistic job previews, structured interviewing, and expanded orientation or mentoring of new employees. The report concludes that sustaining and replicating these interventions will require further research about associated costs and benefits and dissemination of this information.
Flanagan, Susan A. (June 2004). Accessing workers' compensation insurance for consumer-employed personal assistance service workers: Issues, challenges and promising practices. Office of Disability, Aging, and Long-Term Care Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Abstract:
This study examines whether or not personal assistant service (PAS) workers are covered by workers' compensation insurance when they work for household employers. An historical overview and a state-by-state break down of the various laws as they relate to direct-care workers are provided. Problems are identified with the frequently ambiguous employment classification of PAS workers and the dearth of adequate insurance options for employers. Positive examples of accessible and affordable programs are also discussed.
Myers, Douglas, Barbara Silverstein, and Nancy A. Nelson. (June 2002). Predictors of shoulder and back injuries in nursing home workers: A prospective study. American Journal of Industrial Medicine.
Abstract:
Nursing Assistants (NAs) in a nursing home in Washington State were found to have a combined back and shoulder injury rate of 45.8 per 100 workers per year. The data was analyzed by shift, age, gender, experience level, day of the week, and incidence of turnover. Day shifts were the most dangerous. High turnover and lack of social integration among NAs were key indicators of injury while periodic assessments of NAs were not.
Obtain the Full Version: Single issues may be purchased from Wiley InterScience Online
Wong, Alice, H. Stephen Kaye, and Robert Newcomer. (July 2007). State legislation regarding wages and benefits of home care workers: Thirteen promising practices. Center for Personal Assistance Services.
Abstract:
This report focuses on examples of state legislation seeking to increase the hourly wages or benefits of direct-care workers. The thirteen bills or legislative appropriations included in the report increase wages through Medicaid reimbursement rates, amending current laws, or providing health insurance parity.
Health Care for Heath Care Workers. (2007). Coverage models from the states: Strategies for expanding health coverage. PHI.
Abstract:
This report describes successful strategies for expanding health care coverage to direct-care workers. Five strategies are discussed: making employer-based insurance more affordable, expanding public insurance coverage, establishing coverage through collective bargaining, building insurance costs into Medicaid reimbursement, and assisting workers with health care expenses. The report provides examples and models for each strategy that can be adapted by advocates and policymakers in other states.
Pavelchek, Dave and Candiya Mann. (November 2007). Evaluation of interventions to improve recruitment and retention: Summary of results for the Washington State Home Care Quality Authority. Washington State University.
Abstract:
In 2004, subsidized health insurance and higher wages were offered to in-home direct-care workers in Washington's ''individual provider'' program. Using telephone, internet, and mail surveys, as well as government data, researchers found that these initiatives produced a decline in turnover rates and in workers leaving the industry. Roughly one third of new workers reported that these initiatives would make them more likely to remain on the job. The impact on recruitment was less apparent.
Edelstein, Steve, and Carrie Blakeway. (Fall/Winter 2007/2008). State initiatives to strengthen the direct support workforce. Impact. Institute on Community Integration, Research and Training Center on Community Living.
Abstract:
This article describes innovative projects in four states-- Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Washington-- supported by government and foundation programs that have: reduced turnover by using RJPs (realistic job previews) and monetary incentives; developed special licensure for providers supporting career development; created universal, competency-based curricula; implemented a web-based referral registry; and increased retention through health insurance coverage.
This article is from a feature issue of Impact focusing on direct support workforce development.
