Twenty States Receive Grant Funds for Direct Care Workforce Recruitment

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced last week that 20 states have been selected to participate in two separate technical assistance programs that together will help participating states better recruit, train, and retain direct care workers.

The Direct Care Workers (DCW) Strategies Center received applications from 20 states to participate in one of two programs to support them in addressing the workforce shortage in their state. After a thorough assessment, the following six states were selected to participate in the first program:
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• Alaska
• Colorado
• Delaware
• Indiana
• New Jersey
• New Mexico

Each state will receive up to 250 hours of technical assistance, have a coach, and have access to subject matter experts to support them in addressing their state's unique DCW challenges. The team includes representatives from the state's Medicaid, aging, disability, and workforce development agencies, in addition to other stakeholders.

The remaining fourteen states will be offered an opportunity to participate in a second program offering learning collaboratives focused on sharing best practices, innovative strategies, and proven models for growing the direct care workforce. In addition, each state will receive up to 70 hours of technical assistance on a topic or issue important to the state.

For more information on this program, CLICK HERE.