From 1999 through 2002, a number of committees and agencies in Wisconsin identified and began to address the crisis in the recruitment and retention of long-term care workers. Direct Care Worker Initiatives in Wisconsin 1999-2003 (PDF, 13 KB) briefly describes these efforts. A related document, Preventing a "Revolving Door" Workforce (PDF, 20 KB), is also available.

Concerned specifically with the need for more direct care workers to assist people living in their own homes, the Department of Health and Family Services, Division of Supportive Living (now the Division of Disability and Elder Services), Bureau of Aging and Long Term Care Resources made start-up funding available from the state funded Community Options Program (COP) to help solve this problem.

Starting in 1999, funding has been available to county COP lead agencies to initiate closer links with employment and volunteer resources in an effort to address weaknesses in the long-term care provider networks in their areas. Counties were invited to initiate efforts, called Community Links Workforce Projects, to strengthen or expand the workforce for the long-term care population in their communities. One-year awards have been made for county projects designed to:

• recruit new home care workers from traditional and non-traditional sources;
• retain and support current workers, family providers, and other informal supports;
• reduce the need for paid providers by assisting individuals through technology to become more independent and self-sufficient;
• enhance the public image of caregiving as a valuable and rewarding profession;
• complement or supplement the work of paid providers by expanding the use of family, friends, neighbors, and other natural supports as well as the regular resources available in every community; and
• create more caring communities with many eyes and ears to help keep people safe.

In four years, a total of 47 counties received Community Links awards ranging from $1,000 to $50,000. In most cases, the projects were not funded with state funding alone, since counties could claim the federal share of COP or CIP Waiver-allowable costs.

People involved in the projects learned which efforts worked best by experimenting. Ideas were shared from county to county in workshops and conferences, and written materials were reproduced and distributed statewide. The Long Term Care Workforce Alliance is preparing grants to get funding to develop one of the projects, a positive image campaign for direct care workers, into a statewide effort. That project and another, a worker-owned home care cooperative, gained national recognition. This worker-owned home care cooperative in rural east central Wisconsin was featured on the national website of the United States Department of Agriculture and was a semifinalist for the 2002 Innovations in American Government Award from the Institute for Government Innovations at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Although most of what is known about the projects is anecdotal, state staff is impressed at the quality and variety of ideas developed by county staff. The projects represent the local innovation and creativity the state has come to expect from Community Options Program staff and advisors.

In 2003, county efforts will be evaluated and compared to discover which strategies were most effective in recruitment and retention. Then, those methods can be systematically shared statewide. Funding has been made available again for 2003, and as workforce solutions continue to be explored, replication and technical assistance materials will be developed and shared.

The Four-Year Program Summary (PDF, 86 KB) is a review of all of the Community Links Workforce projects from January 1999 through December 2002. Some counties developed one idea for several years; other counties changed their ideas from year to year, carrying out several projects. In some cases, new projects are just getting underway, so descriptions are brief and findings/outcomes cannot yet be identified. Each county description includes the name and contact information for one or more key people, and they can be contacted for additional information. Refer to the topical cross-reference guide (PDF, 22 KB) for help in locating ideas throughout the report.

The contact people at the Bureau of Aging and Long Term Care Resources, Department of Health and Family Services, is Judy Zitske, 608/267-9719.

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Last Revised: January 28, 2008