PHI Launches Universal Direct Care Workforce Initiative

NEW YORK—At the American Society on Aging’s annual conference, the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI) announced the national launch of the Universal Direct Care Workforce Initiative. Drawing on the latest workforce research, emergent findings from demonstration projects in Wisconsin and New York, a multi-year vision for state and national impact and guidance from a newly-formed National Advisory Council, the organization said the initiative will strengthen training, credentialing and career pathways for the nation’s 5.4 million direct care workers.

“For decades, we’ve relied on direct care workers to hold our long-term care system together while offering them fragmented training, poverty-level wages and limited opportunities for career advancement—challenges that have only been intensified by recent policy choices,” said Jodi M. Sturgeon, PHI president and CEO. “At a pivotal moment for both this workforce and our nation’s care infrastructure, our initiative is focused on building what should have been in place all along: clear, portable credentials, meaningful career pathways and a system that recognizes what we know to be true—investing in direct care workers is fundamental to delivering quality care.”

The PHI Universal Direct Care Workforce Model comprises four interrelated elements: universal entry-level competencies, stackable and portable credentials, integrated career pathways and accessible training infrastructure.

“Throughout our history, PHI has been building the evidence base on successful strategies to improve direct care jobs and elevate this workforce,” said Kezia Scales, PHI vice president of policy, research and evaluation. “The imperative now is to link these efforts into a coherent national framework—one that benefits workers, the people they support and the system as a whole.”