Making It Real:Seniors, People With Disabilities, and Workers Join Consumer/Attendant Workforce Steering Committee

Seniors, people with disabilities, and the workers who support them are joining together to develop a structure that will promote a reliable and retainable home care workforce that’s right for Pennsylvania. And by fighting to re-balance the long term living system, seniors and people with disabilities will have the choices they deserve when it comes to their services.

For too long, people who get their services in the community have struggled because they can’t find or retain workers. With many new consumers – some under 60 and many over 60 – wishing to remain in their communities, the demand for caregivers will only increase, making the problem worse.

Today, people who care about community integration have the historic opportunity to address this problem. Alongside Pennsylvania's Secretary of Labor and Industry Sandi Vito, a Steering Committee comprising consumers, attendants, advocates, and workers will work to create a blueprint for a Pennsylvania home care initiative grounded in the principles of self-direction, community integration, and fairness.

Members of the Steering Committee are drawn from a wide variety of stakeholder organizations, including Centers for Independent Living, ADAPT, the AAAs, AARP, the Homecare Association, SEIU, 1199C AFSCME, Disability Rights Network, and many others. Individual consumers – both over and under 60 -- and direct care workers are also participating. They are supported by a legal team with expertise in the rights of people with disabilities and seniors, in Pennsylvania’s Medicaid system, and labor law.

"We have an amazing opportunity to fix our long term living system," says Kathy Lind, a Pennsylvania American Association of Retired Persons member. "People with disabilities want to change our system from one centered on nursing homes to one focused on people’s homes, just like seniors do. And we all need a workforce we can rely on to make the promise of community living real. We are finally working together, and this time we’ll win!"

My Life, My Choice: PA Seniors for Homecare is a growing movement fighting for the dignity, respect, and rights of all Pennsylvanians to choose to live at home, if they want to. Join us at http://www.choosehomecare.org today.