Organizations receiving Medicaid funding to deliver services under the state’s Home Care Program should be receiving a survey that is part of a study on Direct Service Workers funded by CMS. The Home Care Alliance encourages agencies to complete the survey that will help guide policies towards workforce improvement initiatives.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has asked Massachusetts’ Executive Office of Health and Human Services and Executive Office of Elder Affairs to gather and report basic information about the volume, stability, wages, and compensation of the direct service workforce (DSW).
This information will allow state and federal policymakers to:
► Identify and set priorities for long-term support and services reform and systems change.
► Inform policy development regarding direct service workforce improvement initiatives.
► Promote integrated planning and coordinated approaches for long-term supports and services.
► Create a baseline against which the progress of workforce improvement initiatives can be measured.
► Compare workforce outcomes for various programs and populations to better evaluate the impact of policy initiatives.
► Compare state progress with the progress of other states and with overall national performance (where data from other states are available).
According to a cover letter that accompanies the survey, the information in the survey will help agencies and organizations compare themselves to others in Massachusetts and elsewhere in the country.
The survey itself is available online and includes instructions and a summary of purpose. Any questions related to the survey should go to the Direct Service Workforce Resource Center, available toll-free at 1-877-822-2647.
Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.
Think Home Care Blog 
One thought on “HCA Encourages Participation in New Direct Service Worker Survey”