Deerghayu Foundation
Direct Care Workforce Development
The direct service workforce represents a vital pool of workers throughout the United States that provide daily services and support to a diverse population of individuals with a wide range of health and human service needs. There are four main service sectors that employ direct service workers. These are categorized as
- aging,
- behavioral health (i.e. mental health and addiction),
- intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), and
- physical disabilities services.
The workforce is comprised of both home and community-based services (HCBS) workers, such as in-home care aides and direct service workers, and facility-based workers, such as hospital and nursing facility nurse aide staff. (source: CMS)
According to PHI, over 7.4 million new direct care workers are needed by 2029 to meet the growing needs of long term care —and the challenge of attracting new entrants to the field and retaining existing workers is approaching crisis levels.
The Direct Service Workforce Resource Center at the CMS developed a core competency set based on a comprehensive review of existing competency sets and related credentialing and apprenticeship programs.
There are 12 core competency areas into which the skill statements in the Core Competency Set have been organized.
- Communication
- Person-Centered Practices
- Evaluation and Observation
- Crisis, Prevention and Intervention
- Safety
- Professionalism and Ethics
- Empowerment and Advocacy
- Health and Wellness
- Community Living Skills and Supports
- Community Inclusion and Networking
- Cultural Competency
- Education, Training, and Self-Development
Deerghayu Foundation helps DSWs get access to these training at no cost to them while helping them build pathways for a stable career across all four main service sectors.
Administrative workforce development
The administrative workforce represents a vital pool of workers throughout the United States that do administrative tasks in various roles at home and community based service provider businesses.
There are three (3) main service areas or job types that employ administrative workers. These are categorized as
- Care Coordinators
- Billing and Payroll Specialists
- Recruiters
- Human Resource Specialist
Unlike direct care workforce, for whom CMS has suggested twelve (12) core competence areas, no such competencies have been identified for the administrative workforce in HCBS businesses. Working in collaboration with major industry advocacy organizations and state associations, Deerghayu Foundation has taken an initiative to create an innovative curriculum for all 3 service areas.
The curriculum for each service area (job type) is listed below.
Care Coordinators
- Why does scheduling matter?
- Best practices in scheduling
- How to prevent frequent call-out situations
- How to effectively communicate with clients and caregivers
- Common mistakes in scheduling in HCBS settings
Billing and payroll specialist
- Why do billing and payroll matter?
- How to bill across multiple payers
- Best practices in improving cash flow for your business
- Common billing errors and how to handle them
- Common payroll errors and how to handle them
Recruiters
- Why does recruiting matter?
- Essentials of employer branding in direct care work setting
- Best practices in filling your applicant pipeline
- How to effectively interview and avoid bias in hiring decisions?
- Common mistakes in Recruiting process in HCBS business
Human Resource specialist
- Why does employee retention matter?
- How to select appropriate training needs of each employee
- Best practices in building employee recognition program
- How to increase retention of direct care workforce
- Common mistakes in HR management in HCBS business
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121 Perimeter Centre west
Atlanta GA 30346