As you know if you’re a regular reader of our blog or newsletter, the Direct Care Alliance sponsors the National Direct Care Partnership, a coalition of individuals and groups that advocate for legislation and public policies that support direct care workers.
The Partnership will meet soon to talk about taking positions on proposed legislation and regulations. But first, DCA National Advocacy Director Roy Gedat, who facilitates the coalition’s meetings, wants to know what issues or policy solutions you think they should consider.
Send your ideas to Roy at rgedat@directcarealliance.org or add them below as a comment.
You are partnering with Voices of the Retarded (VOR)? You should be ashamed of yourselves.
The aim of the Partnership is to build unity among a broad spectrum of stakeholders to address an issue of national importance: the underpaid, undervalued direct care workforce. In order to achieve that goal, we must improve wages, benefits, and working conditions for direct care workers in all settings.
Partnership members must agree on a set of principles about the direct care workforce in order to join, but we do not necessarily agree about everything. Our sole focus as a group is on advocating for national solutions to the crisis in the direct care sector.
These are the issues we are faced with: turnover rates as high as 70% or higher, a vast majority of our dedicated and committed workers feeling disrespected, a workforce besieged by high levels of depression and on-the-job injuries, low wages, and limited access to affordable health insurance and other benefits. No one constituency or group can resolve this crisis alone.
Feel free to email me directly at lvega@directcarealliance.org