EAST LANSING, Mich. — As Michigan faces increasing demand for healthcare workers and dementia care services, a new summer training opportunity is giving students a chance to gain real-world experience while exploring future careers in healthcare. IMPART Alliance at Michigan State University is offering a free, live online Direct Care Worker Training program for students […]
The fourth installation of A Caregiver’s Butterfly Garden, a statewide traveling art and advocacy exhibit honoring direct care workers and caregivers, opens February 19 at the Ishpeming Multi-Purpose Senior Center, 121 Greenwood St., in Ishpeming. The exhibit marks the first installation in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and will remain on view through January 2027.
Michigan State University’s IMPART Alliance announced today that it has reached a new milestone, successfully enrolling 500 students in training courses, preparing them to join the direct care workforce. The program launched in early 2024 to fill an estimated 15,000 positions in the industry. “Direct care workers (DCW’s), provide paid, professional support to older adults […]
The Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan (AAAWM) recently unveiled its new community training lab, marking a significant step in addressing the growing challenges faced by direct care workforce across the state. Located in Grand Rapids, the center is dedicated to equipping caregivers with essential skills and support, addressing Michigan’s critical shortage of direct care […]
We are thrilled to support your advocacy to help build a stronger Direct Care Workforce in Michigan and to announce our awardees. Read more for our complete list of all awardees.
Providing solutions for the shortage of direct care workers is a work in process. But an exciting new option exists that leverages technology so that some Direct Care Worker /Direct Support Professional (DCW/DSP) tasks can be performed remotely, making it possible for the individuals they support to have increased access to services. Lunden Home in Kentwood […]
Michigan State University has received a $25 million grant to address the state’s shortage of direct care workers from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. A research team housed in the College of Osteopathic Medicine will use part of the grant to establish a Direct Care Worker Career Center. IMPART Alliance is an […]
Michigan State University received much-needed funding to address the state’s critical shortage of direct care workers. Those are the people who provide long-term care and support to people with disabilities or older adults. “You need to be compassionate, you need to be empathetic and you need to have a lot of patience,” said Kelli Ohnstad, […]
Michigan State University has received a $25 million grant that will address the state’s critical shortage of direct care workers, or DCWs, by establishing a Direct Care Career Center that aims to increase pathways into the field and transform the public view to one that recognizes the workforce as a respected profession.
DCWs provide long-term support to individuals with disabilities and older adults. They assist with hands-on care and tasks needed to maintain as much independence as possible. Paid direct care assistance beyond what families can provide is often a necessity, but there is a dire shortage of people trained to do this kind of work. Employers are facing serious challenges in hiring and retaining staff. About 190,000 DCWs are currently serving the state’s residents; at least 36,000 more are needed.
IMPART Alliance is tackling a problem faced by all of us, including our parents, our partners and, ultimately, ourselves,” said executive director and leading faculty researcher Clare Luz. “The U.S. and Michigan’s populations are rapidly aging, which is creating a greater demand for high-quality, lower cost supports and services at home, where most people prefer to live for as long as possible in their later years.”
This collaborative effort is a crucial step towards developing competency assessments, which will serve as the basis for granting competency-based credentials for Direct Care Workers.
