Joining Their Journey

I-1029 was an initiative approved by the voters in 2008 that will require caregivers in a wide variety of care settings to have 75 hours of basic training and pass an exam in order to become Certified Home Care Aids. The initiative was subsequently coded into law under RCW 74.39A. Implementation was deferred from January 1, 2010 to January 1, 2011 during the 2009 legislative session. The Governor’s budget for the 2010 legislative session proposed again deferring implementation, to January 1, 2012, but the legislature tabled a bill that would have done so in the face of heavy pressure from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), sponsor of the original initiative. The reasons for deferral for an additional year are even more apparent today than they were in January:

The state budget situation has only gotten worse. “As difficult as the past two legislative sessions have been, the 2011 session will be even more challenging as the economy is still recovering,” said Gov. Gregoire in introducing her new Priorities of Government (POG) process for developing the 2011 – 2013 budgets. Any objective evaluation of I-1029 requirements will show that they are not “mission critical” under the POG process, making the estimated $6.5 million first year cost unjustifiable. More on that below.

The rule-making process is late. With five months to go, regulations are still in draft form, and as written in the current CR-102 draft, are unworkable. Requirements for curriculum and instructor approval are so onerous that neither the care agencies nor DSHS will be able to comply in time. DSHS has received 90 pages of comments on their CR-102, and a hiring freeze has impacted their ability to complete the CR-103, now expected at the end of September. The result will be chaos for at least several months, leaving seniors and other vulnerable groups without the care they need, and potential caregivers without a path to the jobs they seek.

This law may lead to age discrimination. Today, private pay home care agencies enthusiastically employ older Americans in large numbers because of their strong work ethic, life experiences, and understanding of the needs of their senior clients. The costs of the new training and certification requirements will be a disincentive to hiring older workers because they can be expected to work for a shorter period of time over which to amortize those up-front costs.

I-1029 was never needed in the first place, making its costs unjustified even in a strong economy. The SEIU has been pushing this legislation for years. Because the union will train all “independent providers”, i.e., caregivers working with DSHS-subsidized clients, the legislation will funnel taxpayer money to the union. Yet the SEIU has never been able to make the case that more caregiver training is needed. There is no industry problem with the quality of care that more training will solve. The initiative passed with the voters because it was packaged and advertised as pro-senior. Prior to that, the SEIU had failed twice to make its case to the legislature.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for personal and home care aids will increase by 46% over the decade from 2008 to 2018. Yet this legislation will place a roadblock in front of would-be caregivers due to the effort and expense of becoming trained and certified. Given the low margins in the home care industry, the cost will have to be passed onto our elderly clients, putting home care beyond the reach of many more middle class seniors. The result may be a train wreck of under-served seniors in the state of Washington. The legislation is anti-senior, anti-small business and anti-jobs creation.

Enjoy your week!

Wendy

Wendy McIlnay is General Manager of Regency On Whidbey. Wendy has over 24 years in the senior living industry and is considered an expert in her field. Regency is a nationally recognized leader in senior living, providing exceptional care and first-class amenities for its residents.