A commentary from ARRM's CEO Sue Schettle was published this weekend in the Star Tribune ("Articles on worker shortages ignored direct care providers", Jan. 27) highlighting the state of concern among community-based service providers around direct care staff shortages and the need for our communities and state leaders to work with us to take comprehensive action now.
However, if you're not experienced in the Home and Community-Based Services world, it can be difficult to understand why this is a major issue or how it differs from the impacts to other industries. We try to break it down in a concise explanation on how we got here, why it matters, and what we can do, all in three minutes.
How we got here and why it's different
- Workers were plentiful for the last 50 years: The 1960s and ‘70s saw a massive increase in the workforce supply, not just from the baby boomers, but cultural changes that led hundreds of thousands of women to join the workforce. This has been sustained by several significant immigration waves, particularly in Minnesota.
- Shrinking number of caregivers, growing numbers of 'care needers': Today, the entire workforce, not just health and human services, is losing workers at a rate of five to one, and demographics studies tell us this won’t change for at least another five to ten years. There are simply not enough young people to fill entry positions, creating a spike in job openings where wages are less than $15 per hour.
What's the impact and why it matters
- Shortage impacts amplified in human services: Minnesota's overall job vacancy rate is four percent, while direct care job vacancy rates are about nine percent. The 9,000 open DSP positions alone make up more than 7 percent of all job vacancies in the state.
- Fewer support options hurts people and communities: With shortages like these, it means people seeking supportive services have fewer options and opportunities to maximize independent community living, and in some cases have no options. This ripples through communities, with more people needing more intensive emergency care and fewer people receiving the supports they need to give back to their communities.
No 'simple' solution, but action will make a difference
- Invest in better wages and more flexible rates: Direct care jobs have to become more competitive with other sectors in order to stabilize turnover rates. This can't be the only answer, but an immediate bump and policy changes to ensure rates for services move with the overall market will help give a more sound foundation to the industry.
- Explore and expand staff-supplementing supports: The reality is we need to do more with less in providing the supports to help people live safely and independently. This means investing in solutions like assistive technologies and remote support technology, which expand the ways people can maximize their abilities with less time-intensive staff supports. The more people who can use such support to reduce staff-needs, the more people with more significant needs can be supported.
- Cross-sector community partnerships: At the end of the day, all Minnesota employers are going to be competing for the same pool of workers, and facing increasing struggles if it continues to be a zero-sum game. Communities, along with policy makers need to come together to form partnerships that support mutual interests.
What ideas do you have to help Minnesota meet this coming challenge? Share in the comments below.
Comments