American Rescue Plan Act: Medicaid HCBS Direct Care Workforce Reform and Analysis
Expanding, enhancing, and strengthening the direct care workforce
Wisconsin’s direct caregiving workforce is the backbone of home and community-based services. However, the industry is in crisis. Today, one in four direct caregiver positions is vacant.
We are tackling this health care crisis using the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to recruit, support, and retain health care workers. Our work focuses on these four areas:
Free professional training
The Certified Direct Care Professional (CDCP) Program improves the competency of direct care workers with training in 14 core areas.
This free program, offered in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, only takes about 30 hours to complete.
WisCaregiver Careers
WisCaregivers Careers helps people find their path to a health care career.
Our partnership with HOSA helps high school students get started as CDCPs.
Our CNA program is another free opportunity for advanced training.
Employment platform
WisCaregiver Connections helps employers that hire direct care workers and CDCPs find each other. This online workforce platform gives hiring providers exclusive access to certified workers and features:
- Job postings
- Candidate profiles
- Credentialing details
- Training opportunities
Workforce surveys
Survey results help DHS discover ways to improve the quality and stability of the caregiving workforce. Data from participating organizations includes:
- Turnover
- Tenure
- Wages
- Benefits
This work will benefit agencies and workers who support these programs:
- Children’s Long-Term Support Program
- Family Care
- Family Care Partnership
- IRIS (Include, Respect, I Self-Direct)
- Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE)
- Fee-for-service (FFS) providers who serve HCBS participants
Goals include:
- Better training and education for caregivers
- A pathway for career advancement
- More direct care workers
- Improved quality and sustainability
Resources
- The Long-Term Care Workforce Crisis: A 2022 Report (PDF)
- Wisconsin Caregivers in Crisis: Investing in our Future (PDF)
Featured news
- Certified Direct Care Program Now Available in Spanish | Daily Dodge | March 23, 2024
- Wisconsin's home health care program | WHAD | December 18, 2023
- Amid federal push to employ home health care workers, Wisconsin is celebrated for its progress | WPR | December 13, 2023
- The Value of Statewide Direct Care Worker Training and Credentialing Systems | PHI | October 4, 2023
- These free Wisconsin programs will pay your way to a job in healthcare | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | September 25, 2023
- DHS offering free online program aimed at combating state’s caregiver shortage | Merrill Foto News | September 20, 2023
- Free online program seeks to train 10,000 Wisconsin caregivers | WPR | September 8, 2023
- Free caregiver certification program offered in DHS, UWGB partnership | WBAY-TV | August 30, 2023
- New Home-Based Care Worker Recruitment Program Includes Incentives, Plans For Nationwide Expansion | Home Health Care News | August 22, 2023
- UW-Green Bay, DHS aim to certify 10K new workers to provide home health care in Wisconsin | WPR | August 8, 2023
- As worker shortages loom, some states move to train paid caregivers | Washington Post | July 28, 2023
- Will Wisconsin’s Direct Care Program Change the Field? | PHI | February 27, 2023