Call Takeaways, Video · 08/10/2023

State of the direct care workforce: Data & insight for Medicaid leaders and advocates

Challenges within the direct care workforce threaten the health and wellbeing of millions. Here’s a look at the current state of the workforce that helps to clarify the magnitude of the challenges and potential solutions.

Author

Dawn Cutler-Tran

Focus Areas

Program Stream

Program Support

In this webinar, NAMD partners with three national organizations — ADvancing States, The National Association of Developmental Disability Directors, and Human Services Research Institute – to give Medicaid leaders an inside look at key data on state of the direct care workforce. The data are derived from the 2021 National Core Indicators’ State of the Workforce Survey and focus on direct service professionals for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD).

Three key insights from the data include:

1 in 4 providers reported a decrease in direct service professionals on payroll in 2021 despite the fact that most providers (87 percent) reported the number of individuals approved for or enrolled in services increased or stayed the same.
The turnover rate for direct service providers was 43.3 percent in 2021. Over half of employees who separated from their provider agencies did so within the first 12 months of employment.
Almost 60 percent of providers offered health insurance and/or dental coverage to some or all direct service providers. Just over half offered retirement benefits (53 percent) or vision coverage (52 percent).

Want to learn more? Check out the webinar recording or download the slides.