The crisis in the direct care workforce for people with disabilities, largely due to inadequate pay, has been the Arc of Massachusetts’ number one concern for several years now. Covid has made it worse. Because of lack of staffing, many of our loved ones don’t have the services they need — they can’t find PCAs, and are still unable to return to their day programs after more than a year at home. Parents are frayed.
The Arc has issued a call to arms:
“This is the time. Years of minimal rate increases have resulted in chronic vacancies in direct care positions in our disability sector. Nationally, before COVID-19, turnover rates were higher than 40%. But add the Commonwealth’s red hot real estate market to the mix, and you can imagine the crisis many families, individuals, and agencies face.”
We need to fix this for now, and for the years to come. Not just with better wages, but with better use of technology and better training.
Below is an excerpt from a recent Boston Globe article, which does a great job highlighting the issue.
“Bonuses for dishwashers and ice cream scoopers — so why not for the disability workforce?
By Joan Vennochi, Globe Columnist, June 16, 2021
To deal with a post-pandemic labor shortage, employers are offering bonuses and raising wages to hire workers to wash dishes, scoop ice cream, and serve hamburgers.
When it comes to taking care of people with disabilities, the pay is low to start and, so far, unchanged by the same post-pandemic labor shortage. So far, the authority ultimately responsible for setting wages — the state of Massachusetts — hasn’t budged on increasing the current pay scale range of $15.53 to $16.50 an hour, which is about $32,000 a year.
There are the direct care workers and personal care attendants who take care of the most intimate needs of the most vulnerable people. How can we possibly value these workers less than someone serving up Happy Meals?”
We need our legislators to act to boost the pay of the people who are so important to the care of our loved ones. For the full article, see https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/06/16/opinion/bonuses-dishwashers-ice-cream-scoopers-so-why-not-disability-workforce