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Tags Posts tagged with "Workforce Crisis"

Workforce Crisis

On January 8, 2024, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) announced the availability of $2.8M in reemployment funds for the Direct Care Worker Job Quality (DCWJQ) Grant. The grant funding is to be used to boost PA’s direct care workforce by improving job quality and increasing career advancement opportunities. Applicants may request awards of up to $600,000 each.

Additional information about this funding is posted on the L&I grant opportunity web page. This information includes the grant itself, the application form, project summary, budget form, and the Worker Protection and Investment Certificate form.

The application deadline for the DCWJQ Grant is February 29, 2024, at 4:00 pm ET.

The PA Provider Advocacy Coalition, an organization that constitutes a variety of PA providers and advocates across all fields, recently sent a letter to the Shapiro Administration regarding the FY 2024/25 budget. RCPA signed onto the letter, which calls for rate adjustments and investments in Medicaid services in order to address the current workforce crisis. The Coalition states in the letter:

We recognize that addressing these workforce challenges will require a sustained, coordinated, multi-faceted public and private sector response. Earlier this year, our coalition met with representatives of your administration to recommend the creation of a Health Care Workforce Council to help lead this multiyear effort. However, there is one aspect of this overall problem that is relatively straightforward—chronic underpayment by the Medical Assistance program.

RCPA will continue to keep our members informed of updates. If you have any questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.

RCPA recently joined over a dozen PA associations in delivering a joint letter to the Shapiro Administration requesting investments be made in behavioral health services for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024/25 budget. As noted in the letter, which was compiled by the PA Provider Advocacy Coalition:

The mental health system all too often is unable to deliver the right care, at the right time and in the right setting. We recognize that there is no simple fix and that a sustained, multiyear effort by all stakeholders—the commonwealth, counties, providers, insurers, and advocates—is necessary to rebuild and create a mental health system for the 21st century.

RCPA will continue to keep our members informed of updates. If you have any questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.