By Natasha Bryant
A new grant will allow the LTSS Center and Rush University Medical Center to strengthen training and career pathways for direct care professionals.
The LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston, through a contract with Rush University Medical Center, has been awarded a new grant to support the development of standardized training and career advancement pathways for direct care professionals in Illinois. The project, funded by the Illinois Department on Aging, seeks to address challenges facing the state’s direct care workforce, particularly caregivers serving clients enrolled in Medicaid waiver programs.
Workforce Needs in Illinois
Illinois is projected to have 186,500 job openings for home health and personal care aides between 2022 and 2032, according to the Workforce Data Center maintained by PHI, a New York-based organization dedicated to improving the quality of direct care jobs. Despite these projections, the state’s training system for personal care aides is fragmented, with no uniform curriculum. Each agency provides its own training programs, leading to inconsistent training quality.
The LTSS Center is working on an initiative with Rush University Medical Center to reform and standardize the training of direct care professionals in Illinois and create a career pathway for them. The initiative is designed to improve the quality of care provided to clients and enhance job satisfaction, retention, and professional development opportunities for the direct care workforce.
Standardized Training and Career Pathways
The Rush Center for Excellence in Aging will develop a 25-hour, standardized online training curriculum focused on competencies needed to care for clients in home and community settings. These trainings will be evidence-based, competency-driven, and aligned with sector needs. In addition, the project will include the development of the following career advancement pathways:
Mentoring: The Center for Innovative and Lifelong Learning at Rush University will develop training for supervisors who will mentor direct care professionals. The center will also create a direct care professional mentor role and teach caregiving professionals about mentoring.
Career Advancement Badge System: The LTSS Center will design and test a career advancement badge system to recognize skill development and support upward mobility among direct care professionals. These digital badges will reflect competencies in two to four specialty areas, identified through an environmental scan and interviews with home care providers, direct care professionals, consumers, and other key stakeholders.
The badge system will blend asynchronous online training with an on-the-job training guide to reinforce practical application and competency development. Direct care professionals will earn badges after demonstrating proficiency in specific areas, as shown through competency assessments. Completion of badges may lead to:
- Recognition by employers.
- Expanded job responsibilities.
- Bonuses or wage increases.
- Potential credit toward annual training requirements or academic coursework in nursing or social work.
Developing Frontline Leaders
The LTSS Center will also enhance collaboration between direct care professionals and supervisors by:
- Developing training or exploring training partnerships that prepare direct care professionals to observe, document, and report changes in client conditions.
- Training supervisors to respond to these reports, foster effective communication, and close feedback loops with direct care professionals.
- Exploring the development of a lead caregiver role that includes quality assurance responsibilities and leads to wage increases.
Project Evaluation
The Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) will lead the project’s evaluation. AMCHP will assess the effectiveness of the project’s training and mentoring components, including changes in direct care professionals’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes.