Maine Bill Would Establish Commission to Study Direct-Care Workforce

Maine would establish a committee to develop ways to better recruit, retain, and improve job quality for direct-care workers if a bill introduced on March 10 is passed into law.

The bill, H.P. 1119 (pdf), would create the “Commission to Study Ways to Support and Strengthen the Direct Care Workforce Across the Long-Term Care Continuum.”

The commission would research the conditions in which direct-care workers perform their jobs as well as determine the demand for their services.

It would also identify career pathways for direct-care workers across long-term care settings, as well as work toward “developing worker incentive programs and…strategies to create high-quality work environments.”

The bill is supported by Mark Eves, the Democratic speaker of the Maine House, as well as state senator David Burns (R).

— by Matthew Ozga