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Solving the workforce crisis in the Maryland region (and beyond) will require investments in initiatives that offer direct care and services workers (DSWs) access to obtainable and meaningful career opportunities that include both ladders as well as lattices.

Career ladders are aimed at supporting DSWs to advance their credentials while they work to develop unique skillsets that help them move into positions that bring greater responsibility and higher pay.

Career lattices offer DSWs opportunities to learn about topics that help them improve their skills and knowledge in areas highly relevant to their work, such as dementia care, infection control, end-of-life care, and more. These efforts are designed to offer additional training matched with a raise in pay, an elevation in title, and/or new responsibilities or functions.

This webinar will focus on these concepts within the Maryland region and around the country.

Panelists for the webinar are as follows:

• Jennifer Craft Morgan, PhD, Director of and Professor in the Gerontology Institute at Georgia State University. 
• Joshua Harrold, MBA, Regional Director of the 1199SEIU Training and Employment Fund in Maryland/DC
• Fahim Karim, Regional Coordinator, Business Services Transportation, Logistics & Health Care Industry, Employ Prince George's
• Jessica King, PhD, Research and Evaluation Associate, PHI
• Sharon Ward, EARN/Youth Program Manager, Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare

We will leave time for Q&A as well, so please be prepared for a lively and dynamic discussion!

The DC Coalition on Long Term Care was instrumental in the recent introduction of the "Direct Care Worker Amendment Act of 2023," to the DC Council. The bill would establish a new minimum wage for direct care workers of 120 percent of DC’s living wage.

The bill also seeks to expand the pool of eligible providers. Health professionals generally must be 18 years of age to become licensed or certified to practice. This bill lowers the age for DCWs to 16, provided the minor either has received or is actively pursuing a high school equivalency diploma.

Read more HERE, including the full text of the bill.

Adults receiving some support from paid caregivers felt more mastery over their lives than those receiving support from only family or friends, according to a new study published in The Gerontologist.

The authors concluded that receiving paid care can:

• Help alleviate the caregiving burden of family, friends, or neighbors.
• Give care recipients the feeling that they still have the power to direct their services and reciprocate by paying for services.
• Help older adults feel they can still accomplish daily actions even in the face of disability because professional caregivers may be better trained to assist with ADLs.

“Type of Home Care – Informal Versus at Least Some Formal – Matters for Recipients’ Perceived Control” can be accessed HERE.

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