It's no secret shortages of direct care staff staff, and the ability to retain direct care staff in lower-paid difficult positions, is the most pressing challenge faced not only by ARRM members but by anyone seeking to employ people to provide Home and Community-Based Services. The sheer scope and scale of the issue has defied effective solutions being created and put into action, in part because policy makers and even research experts have yet to have an effective and comprehensive analysis of the situation in its entirety, as opposed to looking at it sector-to-sector
Taking Action
As part of efforts to combat this, ARRM is partnering with the Institute on Community Integration (ICI) at the University of Minnesota, in partnership with Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) and other provider trade associations including Care Providers of Minnesota, Leading Age Minnesota, Minnesota Homecare Association, and Minnesota Organization for Habilitation and Rehabilitation (MOHR) to field a statewide survey about the direct support workforce.
The Minnesota Direct Support Workforce survey is designed to better understand, wages, benefits, retention of staff, size, and scope of the direct support workforce. Data gathered from the Minnesota Direct Support Workforce survey will be used to inform and expand the conversation about ways to improve the ability to find and keep good employees in Medicaid funded programs in Minnesota.
How Results Will Be Used
Results will be used by DHS, provider trade associations, and advocates in upcoming legislative sessions as they work together to find solutions to the direct support workforce crisis in Minnesota. To date, no statewide survey has been conducted to gather information specifically on workforce issues for direct support workers. This survey is the first of its kind in Minnesota.
Your involvement and willingness to participate in this survey is voluntary. However, the gathered information is very important in advocacy for these solutions and therefore your participation is crucial to the success of this effort.
Survey Logistics
The Minnesota Direct Support Workforce survey will be sent in November 2018 to a random selection of community-based service agencies in the long-term services and supports disability and/or aging services fields. In addition, a separate survey designed to gather information on the perspective of individual direct support workers will be mailed to be distributed at each organization. This Worker survey will help us better understand workforce issues from the workers’ perspectives.
Engaged Communities
These surveys have also been approved by the advocacy groups of The Arc Minnesota, Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE), and Minnesota Families and Advocates Coalition (MnFAC).
Please consider participating in these statewide surveys and encouraging your employees to participate, too. Your input is invaluable.