"The Cost of Compassion" from the Oregon Rehabilitation Association
In Michigan, a 2015 survey by the Partnership for Fair Caregiver Wages shows that employers can't attract Direct Service Providers with the current reimbursement rates:
"In the spring of 2014, the Michigan Legislature passed a law to increase the standard minimum hourly wage, via annual increases, from $7.40 to $9.25 by January 1, 2018. The Legislature did not provide any additional funding for the wages of direct-support workers, the employees of state-funded programs that care for and support some of the most vulnerable people in our state.
"An estimated 44,000 direct-support jobs are funded through Medicaid appropriations to support and serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental illnesses, and substance use disorders. Employers of these workers depend on Medicaid funding provided through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and unlike other businesses, have little or no ability to increase revenues to meet increased staff costs.
"Even before the increases in the minimum wage, staffing shortages tied to low wage rates were creating soon-to-be-crisis-level consequences." [Emphasis added]
High Turnover Rate: "Among those surveyed, a 37 percent turnover rate = loss of 6,308 employees in a single year. "
Direct-Support Workers Earn Poverty Wages
2,600 direct-support workers are needed now.
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The Partnership for Fair Caregiver Wages is a coalition of state-wide organizations advocating for persons with disabilities, direct support staff, and employers as well as regional community mental health boards and individual employers. This coalition is seeking sufficient public dollars to raise the wages of direct support staff in Medicaid-funded programs supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental illness, and substance use disorders.
For more information, please contact Hollis Turnham at hturnham@PHInational.org or Robert Stein at rstein@miassistedliving.org.
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What is a "Living Wage" in your state? Find out here.