BJBC-PA focuses on statewide and regional policies and trends affecting the 100,000 Direct Care Workers (DCWs) in Pennsylvania. We are just beginning to learn first hand about the issues that affect direct care jobs and the quality of care workers provide. See our Research & Publications section for more details. Respect, pay and benefits, and education are the three areas that DCWs say are important to their job quality.

Requiring comprehensive entry-level training for all DCWs is BJBC-PA's current priority advocacy issue.  BJBC-PA developed its Universal Core Curriculum to be a model for this entry-level training.

Trends in Pennsylvania's direct care workforce are summarized in "Pennsylvania's Care Gap: Finding Solutions to the Direct-Care Workforce Crisis" (PHI, 2003).

BJBC-PA is providing advocacy to advance the following legislative bills and government initiatives:

Legislative bills:

• PA H.B. 1034 for advanced training for DCWs; introduced 4/5/07, referred to Committee on Education. 
• PA H.B. 737 (and S.B. 667) revises criminal background checks for workers in long term care, separating "lifetime ban" offenses and "10 year ban" offenses.
• US H.R. #1279 Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act gives state the option for additonal federal dollars for direct support professionals serving individuals with disabitlities under the Medicaid program.  

Government initiatives:

• Dept. of Health is promulgating regulations for Act 69, passed 6/06, defining licensure of home care including training provisions for new DCWs.  For a March 2007 draft of the regulations click here or visit  http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/ and click through to the home care division.
• Dept. of Labor Direct Care Workgroup recommendations to Pennsylvania policy makers on how to improve the direct care workforce.
• Pennsylvania funds DCW recruitment & retention for in-home services
• Recently implemented personal care home regulations requires training & competency exam for DCWs

Regional policy work and trends include the following initiatives:

• Philadelphia - BJBC-PA's Universal Core Curriculum (UCC) was approved by the local Area Agency on Aging to use its DCW retention funds to train new personal care home workers.
• Local Workforce Investment Boards (WIB) - many have grants to train long term care workforce through a Health Care Consortium of employers and educators.

For more information or to get involved, please contact Karen E. Reever, Director, BJBC-PA, reever@bjbc-pa.org, 215-545-5728 x259.

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