BRIEFING: PCA State Training Standards and Demonstration Projects

The U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP), and PHI are holding a briefing on the training standards for personal care aides (PCAs) — the fastest-growing occupation in the nation.

Training Personal Care Aides: The Latest Research Findings and Strategies from the States will take place on September 24 on Capitol Hill from 10:00 – 11:30 am.

There is no cost to register (see below for information).

At the event, PHI Director of Policy Research Dorie Seavey will present the latest findings from PHI’s state-by-state analysis of PCA training requirements.

Marcia Brand, deputy administrator, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will report on the Personal and Home Care Aide State Training (PHCAST) demonstration project currently underway to develop PCA training and credentialing programs.

HRSA, the federal agency administering the grant program, plans to release its interim report on the progress in the six states that were awarded project funding: California, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, and North Carolina.

Speakers from three of the PHCAST demonstration projects will present on the efforts in their states:

• Mary Adney, Project Coordinator, Personal and Home Care Aide State Training Program, California
• Erin Drinnin, Project Manager, Direct Care Workforce Initiative, Iowa Department of Public Health
• Susan Harmuth, Senior Program Manager, North Carolina Foundation for Advanced Health Programs

The PCA occupation is projected (pdf) to experience explosive growth of 71 percent in the coming decade in response to rapidly increasing demand for long-term services and supports as the nation ages.

The final results of the PHCAST demonstration projects will inform recommendations for national minimum standards for PCA training.

Walter R. McDonald and Associates Inc. and the LeadingAge Center for Applied Research have recently been awarded a HRSA grant to design and implement a national evaluation of the PHCAST program.

Registration

Visit PHI’s Eventbrite registration page or use the form below:

— by Deane Beebe