By Geralyn Magan
A new LTSS Center research brief makes recommendations for implementing standardized, competency-based training programs for home care aides.
Nearly 2.1 million home care aides—also known as personal care aides and personal care assistants—provide home-based care in the United States. Yet, employers still struggle to recruit and retain sufficient numbers of these aides to meet the growing demand for their services.
A new research brief from the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston focuses on one of the factors leading to workforce shortages among home care aides: the lack of adequate training and preparation of these professional caregivers. The research brief, An Exploration of State-Sponsored Home Care Aide Training Approaches, is based on a study by the LTSS Center and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF).
ABOUT THE STUDY
Researchers set out to identify and describe potential strategies to adequately train and prepare the home care workforce to meet the growing demand for long-term services and supports (LTSS). Their study, which focused on home care aides employed by agencies, documented promising practices being implemented through state-sponsored training programs, and generated recommendations based on the lessons learned from the state training programs and a review of the literature.
The research team reviewed training programs in seven states that have used their regulatory authority to adopt and promote home care aide training curricula that is comprehensive, consistent, and has some level of rigor:
- Alaska.
- Arizona.
- Maine.
- Massachusetts.
- New York.
- Virginia.
- Washington.
ABOUT THE RESEARCH BRIEF
The research brief includes detailed information about the seven state-sponsored training initiatives, including information about each state’s approach to:
- Required training hours.
- Training topics.
- Training providers.
- Training delivery.
- Assessment of trainees.
- Portability/transferability of training certificates.
- Training costs.
The brief also includes recommendations for developing standardized, competency-based training for the home care aide workforce. Researchers make recommendations in six key areas:
- Structure of the training program.
- Collaboration among stakeholders and state agencies.
- Training delivery.
- Assessment of competencies.
- Funding a state-sponsored training initiative.
- The effects of COVID-19 on training.
“Standardized, competency-based training would help to ensure aides have the skills and knowledge they need to care for clients with complex needs, and to be resilient in the face of challenges such as the coronavirus pandemic,” write the authors. “COVID-19 shed new light on the essential work that home care aides do each day, but it also uncovered the need to address long-standing training gaps so aides are better able to navigate their daily work challenges and the challenges associated with current and future health emergencies.”
READ THE REPORT
For more information, read An Exploration of State-Sponsored Home Care Aide Training Approaches.