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	<title>News and Opinions « Direct Care Alliance &#187; Tracy Dudzinski</title>
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	<link>http://blog.directcarealliance.org</link>
	<description>What direct care worker advocates are thinking, saying and doing</description>
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		<title>DCA to Build on Momentum in 2012</title>
		<link>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2012/01/dca-to-build-on-momentum-in-2012/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2012/01/dca-to-build-on-momentum-in-2012/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:41:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tracy Dudzinski</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Advocacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[as leaders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DCW associations/coalitions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Direct care consumers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[legislation and regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Minimum wage and overtime for home care workers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[respect]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[skills and attributes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[training and education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Voices Institute]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wages and benefits]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.directcarealliance.org/?p=4572</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dear Friends, Thanks to the hard work of our direct care worker leaders and allies, we made a lot of progress in 2011, and there are many opportunities for continued success in 2012. As DCA’s board chair, I am incredibly proud of the leadership and vision of DCA’s executive director, Leonila Vega, as well as [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>A Landmark Day for Home Care Workers</title>
		<link>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/12/a-landmark-day-for-home-care-workers/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/12/a-landmark-day-for-home-care-workers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Dec 2011 05:03:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tracy Dudzinski</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Advocacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[as leaders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[legislation and regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Minimum wage and overtime for home care workers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wages and benefits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wisconsin]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.directcarealliance.org/?p=4533</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last Thursday was a big day in the history of the fight for direct care worker rights, and I was lucky enough to be right there in Washington, DC, representing DCA and my fellow home care workers when President Obama made the announcement. (That’s me in the video, right behind the President’s left shoulder). The [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/12/a-landmark-day-for-home-care-workers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why We Stopped Offering Health Insurance to Our Home Care Workers</title>
		<link>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/10/why-we-stopped-offering-health-insurance-to-our-home-care-workers/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/10/why-we-stopped-offering-health-insurance-to-our-home-care-workers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:00:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tracy Dudzinski</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[as leaders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wages and benefits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wisconsin]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.directcarealliance.org/?p=4314</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Some things just don’t make sense. As many of you know, I am an employee-owner of a supportive home care agency in Wisconsin that is a worker-owned cooperative. I chair the board of directors, which recently had to make a very difficult decision: We had to stop offering health insurance coverage to our employees. I [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/10/why-we-stopped-offering-health-insurance-to-our-home-care-workers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>2</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Wisconsin Honors Exceptional Direct Care Workers and Employers</title>
		<link>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/10/wisconsin-honors-exceptional-direct-care-workers-and-employers/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/10/wisconsin-honors-exceptional-direct-care-workers-and-employers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:23:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tracy Dudzinski</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[as leaders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[awards and recognition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DCW associations/coalitions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wisconsin]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.directcarealliance.org/?p=4243</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Every year here in Wisconsin we honor four direct care workers, one supervisor of direct care workers, and one administrator in long term care. I was honored to present the awards last week to my fellow direct care workers. I got to visit with most of the winners before the presentation, which was at a [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/10/wisconsin-honors-exceptional-direct-care-workers-and-employers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Believe, Achieve, Succeed</title>
		<link>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/08/believe-achieve-succeed/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/08/believe-achieve-succeed/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:13:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tracy Dudzinski</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Advocacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[as leaders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[career advancement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wisconsin]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.directcarealliance.org/?p=4107</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Being elected the chair of the board of directors for the Direct Care Alliance at our annual meeting this year was a great honor and an important step in a leadership journey I’ve been on for a few years. It&#8217;s also been an honor to work with my talented fellow board members, including several new [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/08/believe-achieve-succeed/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Woo-Hoo, Our Co-Op Toolkit is Finished! Or Is This Just the Beginning?</title>
		<link>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/03/woo-hoo-our-co-op-toolkit-is-finished-or-is-this-just-the-beginning/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/03/woo-hoo-our-co-op-toolkit-is-finished-or-is-this-just-the-beginning/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Mar 2011 20:28:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tracy Dudzinski</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[DCA initiatives]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DCW associations/coalitions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Direct care workers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Publications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wisconsin]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.directcarealliance.org/?p=3466</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When I was approached to write a toolkit about starting a worker-owned home care cooperative, I wasn’t sure where to start.  But if you have read some of my previous blog posts, you know I say that you can’t grow as a person if you don’t step out of your comfort zone. I have to [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/03/woo-hoo-our-co-op-toolkit-is-finished-or-is-this-just-the-beginning/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Turmoil in Wisconsin: How Governor Walker’s Proposal Impacts Families and Consumers</title>
		<link>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/02/turmoil-in-wisconsin-how-governor-walker%e2%80%99s-proposal-impacts-families-and-consumers/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/02/turmoil-in-wisconsin-how-governor-walker%e2%80%99s-proposal-impacts-families-and-consumers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 25 Feb 2011 18:23:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tracy Dudzinski</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Advocacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[as leaders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DCW associations/coalitions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Direct care workers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wisconsin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Badger Care]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Governor Walker union]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wisconsin protests]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.directcarealliance.org/?p=3391</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You’ve probably heard about the turmoil going on here in Wisconsin, but most of the talk about our budget repair bill is being focused on collective bargaining rights. There are other things buried in the bill that scare the heck out of me, but hardly anyone is talking about them. A provision in the repair [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/02/turmoil-in-wisconsin-how-governor-walker%e2%80%99s-proposal-impacts-families-and-consumers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Wisconsin Investing in People Living with Disabilities</title>
		<link>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/02/widca-collaborates-with-survival-coalition-on-workforce-disability-issues/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/02/widca-collaborates-with-survival-coalition-on-workforce-disability-issues/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 Feb 2011 15:49:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tracy Dudzinski</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[DCW associations/coalitions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wisconsin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[people disabilities Wisconsin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Survival Coalition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wisconsin Direct Care Giver Alliance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.directcarealliance.org/?p=3371</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Wisconsin Direct Caregiver Alliance is working together with the Survival Coalition to bring direct care workforce issues to light. WIDCA has a seat at the table with the Survival Coalition, and we were invited to a statewide disability summit. The summit was a daylong event where we talked about what we hoped could be [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2011/02/widca-collaborates-with-survival-coalition-on-workforce-disability-issues/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Using My Voice Saved My Daughter&#8217;s Life</title>
		<link>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2010/12/using-my-voice-saved-my-daughters-life/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2010/12/using-my-voice-saved-my-daughters-life/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Dec 2010 17:07:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tracy Dudzinski</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Advocacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[as leaders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Direct care workers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wages and benefits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wisconsin]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2010/12/using-my-voice-saved-my-daughters-life/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I recently posted a blog entry about a challenge my family was facing with my daughter and her insulin. As I stated in the blog, I was going to contact my elected officials to ask for help in keeping my daughter alive. I wrote those letters and was fortunate that my state senator’s office wrote [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2010/12/using-my-voice-saved-my-daughters-life/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>To Stay or Not to Stay? When Will We Ever Get Ahead?</title>
		<link>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2010/11/to-stay-or-not-to-stay-when-will-we-ever-get-ahead/</link>
		<comments>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2010/11/to-stay-or-not-to-stay-when-will-we-ever-get-ahead/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:42:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Tracy Dudzinski</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Direct care workers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[public policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wages and benefits]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wisconsin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Badger Care]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[direct care workforce]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[paying for children diabetes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[paying for medication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wisconsin Medicaid]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blog.directcarealliance.org/?p=3211</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I have been a direct care worker since 1996. I love my profession and do not want to leave it, but the system is not making it easy to stay. My family has relied on the Wisconsin health insurance plan for some years now.  I got my start in long-term care at a nursing home.  [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://blog.directcarealliance.org/2010/11/to-stay-or-not-to-stay-when-will-we-ever-get-ahead/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>5</slash:comments>
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