Voters Can Empower Home Care Consumers by Passing Prop. B

The Disabled Citizens Alliance for Independence (DCAI), a leading Missouri advocacy organization for the disabled, joined with Missourians for Quality for Home Care today to release “Home Care in Missouri: In Demand and Falling Short,” a white paper that outlines the challenges facing the state’s long term care system.

Demand for long term care in Missouri will increase as the population ages and more people require support.

“Almost every family in Missouri is going to be touched by this issue, whether you have a loved one who is disabled or a parent or grandparent who is becoming elderly. This report underscores how we can better provide quality, cost-effective services if we pass Proposition B and help more people get access to home-based care,” said Richard Blakely, Executive Director of DCAI.

The report comes as Missouri voters get ready to decide on Proposition B, a proposal to establish a consumer-led Quality Home Care Council to give consumers a stronger voice about Missouri’s home-based care system.

The report is available online at http://www.moqualityhomecare.org/storage/In%20Demand%20and%20Falling%20Short%20in%20MO.pdf

Key findings in the report include:

• Missouri’s population is thirteenth oldest in the country as measured both by number of people older than 65 and older than age 85.
• Over the next two decades, Missouri will experience an 87 percent increase in residents aged 65 and older. This segment of the population is expected to grow faster than any other over the next twenty years.
• Long term care is becoming increasingly expensive. A recent report by Genworth Financial found that long term care costs in Missouri increased as much as three times the national average over the past five years.
• Home care is less expensive than providing care in nursing homes. A study by Washington University that providing care in homes instead of institutions has saved $349 million.

Jefferson City – Seniors and people with disabilities took one step closer to having a real voice to improve home care services in Missouri as Secretary of State Robin Carnahan certified that a ballot initiative to create a Quality Home Care Council has gained enough signatures from voters to appear on the November ballot.

The Quality Home Care Council would be a consumer-led body working to make it easier for people who need home care to find a caregiver they can depend on through a comprehensive statewide workforce registry.

The Council would establish a backup system for times when regular caregivers are unavailable, and it would help set wages and benefits for home caregivers to reduce turnover. The Council would also address loopholes that put vulnerable citizens at risk that were identified in State Auditor Susan Montee’s November 2007 report

“People live better lives thanks to home caregivers like me because they can remain in their own homes,” said St. Louis home care worker Tasha McGhee. “That freedom of living at home is threatened when you’ve got a revolving door of care because workers leave for better paying jobs.”

More than 8,000 home care workers provide the assistance that allows thousands of Missourians with disabilities and seniors to live at home instead of more costly institutions. In-home caregivers help with bathing, dressing, cleaning, and meal preparation and provide other essential daily services. But low wages and lack of benefits result in a high workforce turnover, which puts consumers’ ability to live at home at risk.

“We believe a Council will assist people with disabilities by helping stabilize the workforce by advocating for improvements to benefits and wages for attendants who provide critical services,“ stated Richard Blakely, Executive Director of Disabled Citizens Alliance for Independent Living. “DCAI fully supports this ballot measure.”

With the number of elderly Missourians expected to rise more than 70 percent in the next twenty years, the demand for in-home services will skyrocket. The creation of a Quality Home Care Council will help ensure a stable workforce of reliable home caregivers is in place to meet the demand and ensure older Missourians can remain in the setting poll after poll shows they prefer: their homes.

The Council would consist of a majority of governor-appointed consumers and consumer advocates, providing them with a real voice to improve care and granting home caregivers a voice to improve their jobs.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2, 2008

CONTACT:
Krissi Jimroglou, 314-605-3098

Creation of Home Care Council in Missouri Supported for November Ballot Decision with Signatures

Quality Home Care Council would help stabilize workforce; ensure seniors and people with disabilities can live at home instead of in an institution

Jefferson City - Seniors and people with disabilities are one step closer to having a real voice to improve home care services in Missouri today, as the Missourians for Quality Home Care campaign delivered more than 200,000 petition signatures to the Secretary of State's office from Missourians who want to see the creation of a Quality Home Care Council on the November ballot.

The Quality Home Care Council would be a consumer-led body working to make it easier for consumers to find a caregiver they can depend on through a comprehensive statewide workforce registry, providing backup services when regular caregivers are unavailable, and helping improve wages and benefits for home caregivers to reduce turnover. The Council would also begin to address some of the loopholes cited in State Auditor Susan Montee's November 2007 report that put Missouri's most vulnerable citizens at risk.

"People live better lives thanks to home caregivers like me because they can remain in their own homes," said St. Louis home care worker Tasha McGhee. "That freedom of living at home is threatened when you've got a revolving door of care because workers leave for better paying jobs."

More than 8,000 home care workers provide the assistance that allows thousands of Missourians with disabilities and seniors to live at home instead of more costly institutions. In-home caregivers help with bathing, dressing, cleaning, and meal preparation and provide other essential daily services. But low wages and lack of benefits result in a high workforce turnover, which puts consumers' ability to live at home at risk.

"We believe a Council will assist people with disabilities by helping stabilize the workforce by advocating for improvements to benefits and wages for attendants who provide critical services," stated Richard Blakely, Executive Director of Disabled Citizens Alliance for Independent Living. "DCAI fully supports this ballot measure."

With the number of elderly Missourians expected to rise more than 70 percent in the next twenty years, the demand for in-home services will skyrocket. The creation of a Quality Home Care Council will help ensure a stable workforce of reliable home caregivers is in place to meet the demand and ensure older Missourians can remain in the setting poll after poll shows they prefer: their homes.

The Council would consist of a majority of governor-appointed consumers and consumer advocates, providing them with a real voice to improve care and granting home caregivers a voice to improve their jobs.

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The Missourians for Quality Home Care campaign brings together home care workers, consumers, and disability, senior, and worker advocates to ensure Missouri seniors and people with disabilities have access to quality home care. For more information, call Krissi Jimroglou at 314-605-3098 or visit www.moqualityhomecare.org.

Paid for by Missourians for Quality Home Care, Sharon Penrod, Treasurer.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 17, 2008

CONTACT:
Alphonso Mayfield at 314-609-3671

Ballot Initiative Filed to Ensure Quality Home Care through Council

Quality Home Care Council would help stabilize workforce; ensure seniors and people with disabilities can live at home

Jefferson City - The Missourians for Quality Home Care campaign filed a ballot initiative petition today to create a Quality Home Care Council, a consumer-led body that would make it easier for consumers to find a caregiver they can depend on through a comprehensive statewide workforce registry, provide backup services when regular caregivers are unavailable, and help improve wages and benefits for home caregivers to reduce turnover.

The statewide registry would also begin to address some of the loopholes cited in State Auditor Susan Montee's November 2007 report that put Missouri's most vulnerable citizens at risk.

More than 8,000 home care workers provide the assistance that allows thousands of Missourians with disabilities and seniors to live at home instead of more costly institutions. In-home caregivers help with bathing, dressing, cleaning, and meal preparation and provide other essential services. But low wages and lack of benefits result in a high workforce turnover, which puts consumers' ability to live at home at risk.

"We believe a Council will assist people with disabilities by helping stabilize the workforce by advocating for improvements to benefits and wages for attendants who provide critical services," stated Richard Blakely, Executive Director of Disabled Citizens Alliance for Independent Living. "DCAI fully supports this ballot measure."

With the number of elderly Missourians expected to rise more than 70 percent in the next twenty years, the demand for in-home services will skyrocket. The creation of a Quality Home Care Council will help ensure a stable workforce of reliable home caregivers is in place to meet the demand and ensure older Missourians can remain in the setting poll after poll shows they prefer: their homes.

"A Council would help ensure quality home care for citizens in Missouri who rely on personal caregivers," said Bob Pund, a longtime community and disability activist. "As we look to our growing senior population, we need sound policies in place so that our loved ones get the care they need to stay in their homes as long as possible.  This solution is a win-win for consumers, workers, and the state of Missouri."

The Council would consist of a majority of governor-appointed consumers and consumer advocates, providing them with a real voice to improve care and granting home caregivers a voice to improve their jobs.

###

The Missourians for Quality Home Care campaign brings together personal care attendants, consumers, and disability, senior, and worker advocates to ensure Missouri seniors and people with disabilities have access to quality home care.  For more information, call Alphonso Mayfield at 314-609-3671.