The Direct Care Worker and
Family Caregiver Initiative
TOGETHER IN CARE
As the need for care continues to rise, the roles of direct care workers and family caregivers are absolutely vital. Together, these caregivers form the common thread that weaves through the fabric of our long-term care system.
Unfortunately, their contributions are underappreciated by policymakers, healthcare professionals, and society at large. This neglect also means there’s little support to improve the collaboration between direct care workers and family caregivers, who are the frontline caregivers working closely to provide the best care.
Together, they care for us—and it’s time to care for them.
The Direct Care Worker and Family Caregiver Initiative, a multi-year collaboration between PHI and the National Alliance for Caregiving, serves as a bold step toward strengthening the relationship between these essential caregivers.
Generously funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation, this initiative will draw attention to the policy barriers, research needs, and workforce interventions that can elevate the bond between these caregivers, creating a more sustainable long-term care system.
A Critical Yet
Unrecognized Relationship
Together, direct care workers and family caregivers provide essential support to millions of older adults and people with disabilities.
Yet, the critical relationship between direct care workers and family caregivers can be frayed and is frequently unrecognized, which hinders their full potential.
As one example, direct care workers and family caregivers are typically not formally integrated into care teams in a meaningful way.
This lack of integration can lead to miscommunication, missed opportunities for collaboration, and poor care outcomes.
Also, without a well-structured system to facilitate understanding and communication between these two groups, they often operate with different perspectives and expectations, leading to confusion, frustration, and inefficiency.
These challenges amplify the profound emotional, physical, and financial strain experienced by both direct care workers and family caregivers.
This strain can lead to burnout, high turnover rates among direct care workers, and diminished health and well-being.
Together, we can change these conditions.
KEY POLICY AREAS
The Direct Care Worker and Family Caregiver Initiative will increase awareness of the challenges direct care workers and family caregivers face as partners in providing care—and advocate for solutions that support this relationship.
1. Promoting Care Integration
We advocate for integrating direct care workers and family caregivers into care teams. Their insights and expertise are invaluable in providing the best care possible, and the health care system should ensure their voices are heard.
2. Expanding Access to Consumer Direction
We support policies that empower individuals and their families to have greater decision-making over their care. In this spirit, consumer direction programs must be better resourced and more accessible.
3. Strengthening Matching Service Registries
We believe in the power of connection.
By developing more online platforms that connect individuals and their families with paid caregivers, we can foster stronger relationships and better care outcomes.
We know knowledge is power, and caregivers deserve data-driven solutions. By investing in more research on the dynamics between direct care workers and family caregivers, we can develop targeted interventions and policies.
4. Investing In Research
Get Involved
To get in direct contact about this initiative, please email Amy Robins, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy, PHI, at arobins@PHInational.org.