Measuring worker turnover in long-term care: Lessons from the Better Jobs Better Care demonstration. Barry, Theresa , Peter Kemper, and S. Diane Brannon. June 2008. The Gerontologist, Vol. 48, No. 3.

This report charts various ways of calculating turnover and discusses how different methods may account for a significant amount of variation in reported rates. Reported rates vary widely within long-term care settings as well as between different settings and geographic regions, and the report's authors recommend exercising caution in comparing turnover rates and in relying on turnover data to determine higher reimbursements. The paper discusses ways of calculating turnover that may be more effective.

Strategies for promoting and improving the direct service workforce: Applications to home and community-based services. Scala, Elise, Leslie Hendrickson, and Carol Regan. May 2008. Rutgers Center for State Health Policy.

This compendium of three papers on the direct service workforce address strategies for improving the quality of jobs and services. The papers: ''Home and Community-Based Services: Workforce and Quality Outcomes''; ''What is the Impact of Unions on Quality of Care?''; and ''Health Coverage for Direct Care Workers, Emerging Strategies'' discuss unionization, wages, health care coverage, and HCBS workforce initiatives, as they relate to home- and community-based care.

Training frontline supervisors in workforce development: The NTIFFS project. McCulloh, Nancy. Fall/Winter 2007/2008. Impact, Vol. 20, No. 2. Institute on Community Integration, Research and Training Center on Community Living.

This article describes a three-year project, which trained ''change agents'' to develop and provide effective workforce development interventions. Six profiles of participating organizations report on project outcomes, including: decreased turnover, increased staff self-esteem, implementation behavior-based interviewing, and enhanced employee orientation and mentoring programs.

This article is from a feature issue of Impact focusing on Direct Support Workforce Development.

Embracing an immigrant workforce: The SOREO experience. Sokol, Wendy. Fall/Winter 2007/2008. Impact, Vol. 20, No. 2. Institute on Community Integration; Research and Training Center on Community Living; College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota.

An agency with a significant percentage of immigrant workers recommends: active recruitment among the immigrant population, careful matching of clients and DSPs, competitive wages and benefits, culturally appropriate support and training, bilingual supervisors, and thorough screening of translators of agency materials.

This article is from a feature issue of Impact focusing on Direct Support Workforce Development.

The invisible care gap: Caregivers without health coverage. Regan, Carol. May 2008. Health Care for Health Care Workers.

This report, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics, provides a snapshot of the health insurance status of caregivers in the United States. The report outlines ten key facts about the workforce, health coverage rates, variations in coverage across the country, rates of injuries and illnesses, poverty rates, and the impact of health insurance to job retention. Statistics illustrate the economic and health insecurity of this workforce.

Residential care and assisted living compendium: 2007. Mollica,Robert, Kristin Sims-Kastelein, and Janet O'Keeffe. November 2007. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

This report details regulatory changes covering residential care and assisted living services in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Links provide a national summary, as well as reports from each state. Areas of focus include changes in the usage and definition of ''assisted living'' in licensing agreements and the federal and state laws that apply to them, changes in Medicare funding and the use of waivers, and methods of consumer outreach.

Evaluation of interventions to improve recruitment and retention: Summary of results for the Washington State Home Care Quality Authority. Pavelchek, Dave and Candiya Mann. November 2007. Washington State University.

In 2004, subsidized health insurance and higher wages were offered to in-home direct-care workers in Washington's ''individual provider'' program. Using telephone, internet, and mail surveys, as well as government data, researchers found that these initiatives produced a decline in turnover rates and in workers leaving the industry. Roughly one third of new workers reported that these initiatives would make them more likely to remain on the job. The impact on recruitment was less apparent.

Country of origin and racio-ethnicity: Are there differences in perceived organizational cultural competency and job satisfaction among nursing assistants in long-term care?. Allensworth-Davies, Donald, et al.. October/December 2007. , Vol. 32, No. 4. Health Care Management Review.

This study of 135 nursing assistants from four New England nursing homes discusses cultural competence as perceived by workers across countries of origin and racio-ethnic groups. The study finds that non-white workers see their facilities as less culturally competent and their coworkers' attitudes toward their race and culture as more negative than their white colleagues did. They make several managerial recommendations to foster better cross-cultural communication.

Occupational Projections for Direct-Care Workers 2006-2016. PHI. April 2008.

This fact sheet summarizes data from the national occupational projections issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the U.S. Department of Labor. Analysis of the data suggests that demand for direct-care workers over the next decade -- projected to reach a million new positions by 2016 -- will continue to out pace supply.