Video: The importance of direct care professionals

The video above features English closed captions.

Transcript:

WisCaregiver Careers, a free certification program to increase the number of caregivers in our state. Direct care workforce professionals are so important in our state because they are the backbone of what is supporting our home and community-based system. So if you need support with regular activities of daily living, if you need support with cooking, if you need support with bathing, these are things that we can bring to you in your home with the support of direct care professionals. 80% of the individuals now live in the community versus in an institutional setting.

We are one of the few states in the nation that has accomplished that goal. It is a much more cost-effective option for people. It’s what people want in the future. The demand for this workforce has ballooned in the last few years, and it will continue to surge in the decade ahead. We estimate that between 2020 and 2030, the long-term care sector nationally will need to fill about 7.9 million job openings in direct care.

WisCaregiver Careers really benefits the people of Wisconsin. Direct care professionals do so much to support the health and well-being of people all over the state so that they can live as independently as possible in their home or in a community-based setting for as long as possible. Wisconsin’s program is easily one of the best in the country because of a few reasons.

One is that it’s building on a really successful training and recruitment model. It’s really a building block towards the ultimate goal, which is making sure that direct care jobs are a true profession that are respected as much as any other health care role.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has partnered with the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay to create a direct care professional certification program and so this program will help provide training in a set of 14 discrete skill areas that a direct care professional needs in order to take care of someone in their home or in a community setting. We know that by being able to provide this online we can reach the population of the state and help to make a bigger impact on the problem we’re trying to solve.

Everyone deserves that comfort to know that the person that they’re hiring has the proper training and expertise before they do the job. We want to make sure that everyone has the most up-to-date knowledge and credential to be able to make sure that they’re providing the best care possible.

It’s our goal to be able to train and certify over 10,000 direct care professionals across the state. You have the opportunity to take the training for free, to receive a $500 bonus as you are hired into your first job, but what we are also doing is linking that training to other certifications such as the certified nursing assistant for the future of work.

It is really important for people to be able to have recognized credentials that they can use to help advance their careers. Credentialing is really important to allow people to be able to create their own career pathways.

We believe these certifications will show that this workforce is worth an investment that is greater than the one that is being made now. It will attract more people to the work and that will sustain these community services that Wisconsin has led the way in creating since the 70s. I think the training programs ensure that workers have the knowledge, the skills, and the confidence to succeed in their roles and I think the combination of those factors is cutting edge and it’s among the top in the country.

WisCaregiver Careers is a professional workforce advancement program of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services in partnership with the University of Wisconsin Green Bay.

Visit our website at wiscaregiverdcdcp.com