HHS LAUNCHES DEMONSTRATIONS TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN PERSONAL ASSISTANCE WORKERS TO HELP PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

From: nospam-drv@cisunix.unh.edu (NHOYO Listmaster)

From: Adrienne Goodrich
Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2003 10:29:46 -0400
Subject: Grant Announcements

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: CMS Public Affairs
Thursday, Oct. 2, 2003 (202) 690-6145

HHS LAUNCHES DEMONSTRATIONS TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN
PERSONAL ASSISTANCE WORKERS TO HELP PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced five new demonstration
grants aimed at helping recruit, train and retain direct service workers,
who provide personal assistance to people with disabilities who need help
with eating, bathing, dressing and other activities of daily living.

Grants totaling nearly $6 million will be distributed to pay for the
demonstrations, three of which will test offering health insurance benefits
to workers to determine if that helps keep workers on the job.

We need to find ways to keep these hardworking, dedicated caregivers on the
job, Secretary Thompson said. Hopefully, these demonstration projects will
identify ways to allow more caregivers to stay in the profession and
encourage more qualified people to provide this essential care and services.

A part of the President's New Freedom Initiative, the Demonstration to
Improve the Direct Service Community Workforce will grant $1.4 million each
to the New Mexico Department of Health, the Maine Governor's Office of
Health Policy and Finance and Pathways for the Future, a service provider
in North Carolina. Each of these grantees will be offering health insurance
to direct service workers during the three-year demonstration. Grants of
$680,500 each will go to the University of Delaware and Volunteers of
America in Louisiana for developing educational materials, training of
service workers, mentorship programs and other activities.

These personal assistance workers are the backbone of the nation's
community-based long-term care system, and should have the same access to
health insurance and other work incentives as millions of working
Americans, CMS Administrator Tom Scully said. Through these demonstrations
we hope to be able to attract and retain more of them.

In 2001, President Bush launched the New Freedom Initiative, which promotes
the goal of removing barriers to community living for people with
disabilities. Under this initiative, 10 federal agencies have collaborated
to remove barriers to community living. Secretary Thompson last year
established the HHS Office on Disability to lead HHS agencies in addressing
the New Freedom Initiative.

More information about this program and the President's New Freedom
Initiative is available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/newfreedom .