Time To Care Coalition (TTCC)-Update

by | Sep 1, 2024

September 1st, 2024

The day before the House Human Services Committee hearing (August 27th, 2024 was the hearing date), Time to Care Coalition held a press conference in Houston urging Texas legislators to prioritize support for IDD funding.

Avondale House,

Center for Pursuit

Volunteers of America

These 3 programs all spoke about the workforce shortage crisis and the need for additional funds to increase direct care wages.  To view the press conference go to:   https://timetocaretx.org/updates/

July 16th, 2024

From our friends at PPAT, see information sent out today on data collected by Time To Care Texas organization:

New Data Shows Escalating Workforce Crisis Facing Community-Based DSPs Serving Texans With IDD

AUSTIN, TX – Today, the Time To Care: Save Texas Caregivers Now coalition released a statement on new data underscoring the escalating workforce crisis facing community-based direct support professionals (DSPs) serving Texans with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The data, collected from a statewide survey of IDD service providers conducted by the Texas Council of Community Centers (Texas Council), Providers Alliance for Community Services of Texas (PACSTX) and the Private Providers Alliance of Texas (PPAT), found that community-based service providers are facing unsustainable staff vacancy rates of 33-34% due to a lack of competitive wages for the DSP workforce.

 

“It is abundantly clear that the 88th Texas Legislature’s wage increase for DSPs from $8.11 per hour to $10.60 per hour has failed to address the workforce crisis among community-based providers of IDD services, as the issue has only been exacerbated,” Time To Care coalition spokespeople Sandy Batton and Carole Smith said. “Instead, we’re seeing more group homes close, along with an untenable increase in staff vacancies. With thousands of Texans with IDD relying on paid staff in small residential settings—including Home and Community-based Services (HCS) and Intermediate Care Facility (ICF) group homes—it’s imperative that we act now to protect our most vulnerable. The most recent statistics should serve as a clear call to action to Texas leaders, illustrating the urgent need to ensure that Texans with IDD receive the quality care and support they deserve.”

 

Additionally, the survey found that:

  • Staff vacancy rates in HCS homes and ICF facilities rose from 30% in 2021 to 33-34% in 2024.
  • DSPs in group homes currently work an average of 60 hours per week, with some working 100 hours per week or more,leading to fatigue-related errors and lower tolerance for stressful situations.
    • 48% of HCS homes and 57% of ICF facilities are struggling to meet federal access standards.
    • 20% of HCS homes and 22% of ICF facilities are reporting an increase in medication errors.
    • 30% of HCS homes and 43% of ICF facilities are experiencing an increase in behavioral issues.
    • 14% of HCS homes and ICF facilities are reporting an increase in hospitalizations.
  • 94% of HCS providers and 96% of ICF providers indicated that $10.60 per hour is not sufficient to address the workforce shortage.
  • A total of 179 HCS homes and 50 ICF facilities closed between January 2023 and February 2024.
  • From March 2024 onward, there are an additional 92 HCS homes and 34 ICF facilities anticipated to close by the end of the year.

To read the full survey report, please click here.

 

To learn more about the workforce crisis facing community-based DSPs, please click here.

 

Time To Care: Save Texas Caregivers Now is a coalition dedicated to securing competitive wages for direct support professionals (DSPs) who provide essential care to Texans with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD). Through collaboration and grassroots efforts, the coalition strives to enact meaningful change at both the legislative and community levels. Learn more about how to get involved at https://timetocaretx.org/.

 

July 11th, 2024

KVUE: Texas group home advocates urging lawmakers to raise pay for caregivers

Coordinated by the Time to Care Coalition, please see the piece below which aired on KVUE July 3rd, 2024 featuring the Mary Lee Foundation.   Mary Lee Foundation allowed Ms. Sanchez to conduct the interview and the persons who agreed to tell their story:  Carroll Rabalais, Christopher Botello and Judy Kegg. The full story is below, and the package itself is viewable at the following link: https://www.kvue.com/article/news/health/texas-group-home-staffing-crisis-austin/269-100a1214-21e8-49cc-999b-b543cf27d541

‘This is what we need’ | Texas group home advocates urging lawmakers to raise pay for caregivers

Kelsey Sanchez

KVUE-TV  July 3, 2024

https://www.kvue.com/article/news/health/texas-group-home-staffing-crisis-austin/269-100a1214-21e8-49cc-999b-b543cf27d541

 

AUSTIN, Texas — Group homes for the disabled and elderly are key in securing services for those with limited income and nowhere to go.

For many – like Christopher Botello, who has lived in a group home for 50 years – these facilities play a vital part in their residents’ lives and independence.

But according to advocates and group home workers, caregiving is a job that doesn’t pay enough and leaves group homes with a revolving door of employees.

Botello lives within the Mary Lee Foundation, an Austin nonprofit that offers affordable housing within its community, along with a variety of programs for those with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities (IDD).

Botello has cerebral palsy, but to him, it’s simply a condition he lives with. He has become what some may call the “captain of the ship” at Mary Lee.

”I train a lot of the people, a lot of the residents here, to ride with buses and staff and learn how to ride buses, so that way, they can go to where they want to go,” Botello said.

It’s an opportunity he found and was able to establish through the foundation – along with people he considers family.

“Being here as long as I have makes you feel like you’re one of the most important people here, which is good because if you get that feeling in your system, then nothing can put you down,” Botello said.

Botello is just one example why some employees haven’t left their post.

Mary Lee offers $13.50 as a starting wage. Overtime is offered, but Interim Director Carroll Rabalais said she is painfully aware that it isn’t sustainable.

“It’s really difficult to ask that of someone and say, ‘You get $10.60 an hour.’ You know, Dairy Queen is going to offer you $15, or any other any other restaurant down the street is going to offer you more,” Rabalais said.

According to an IDD group home provider report, on average, caregivers work about 60 hours per week. Others average out 100 hours or more.

In 2023, Texas lawmakers slightly increased the base wage for group home workers from $8.11 to $10.60. Earlier this year, a newly formed coalition called Save Texas Caregivers Now sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott and legislators, urging them to raise the minimum wage for community-based direct-support professionals from $10.60 to $15 an hour.

Rabalais said she and other advocates have taken their stance to the Legislature themselves, but they have found themselves at a crossroads when it comes to achieving a better base wage.

“It really has not been an area that [state lawmakers are] interested in supporting,” Rabalai said. “This is what we need. This is how we sustain the care and the quality of life for our clients.”

Mary Lee is short 14 full-time direct-care professionals and has five fewer employees today than it did three years ago, according to Rabalais.

Judy Kegg’s stepdaughter also lives at Mary Lee. She explained how she wouldn’t be able to fully provide the services the foundation offers.

Kegg is aware of the staffing crisis and worries about the outcome should the facility close its doors.

“We really, really rely on caretakers,” Kegg said.

According to Texas Human and Health Services (HHS), Travis County has 152 group homes open. In 2023, 15 opened and two shut down.

 

“Time To Care Coalition”  

What is the Coalition’s purpose? To increase awareness about the current and future access to IDD community-based services — more specifically, to increase awareness about the unprecedented workforce shortage in ICFs/IID and HCS group homes and its impact on services to individuals with IDD, secure emergency funding to increase wages of direct care staff working in these group homes and lay the groundwork for the next Texas legislative session.  Note: The Coalition is acutely aware of the critical need for all persons providing attendant or direct care services across the host of Medicaid programs in Texas to receive wages higher than what the 88th Texas Legislature funded.  However, given the number of providers exiting these services (i.e., terminating their contracts) or just closing or reducing the number of group homes they currently operate, the Coalition is currently focused on emergency funds for the aforementioned IDD group homes.
How did the Coalition start? As past efforts in garnering attention on services to persons with IDD have not been successful, a small group of providers concerned about the future of IDD services in Texas came together to establish the Coalition.  Recognizing that past efforts seemed ‘siloed’ (meaning it was primarily just IDD providers), the Coalition deemed it critical to widen the circle of support for IDD services.  This is being accomplished by reaching out to organizations and persons which, heretofore, have never been tapped (or actively tapped) which may have a strong interest in not only supporting the Coalition, but, more importantly, supporting delivery of quality services to persons with IDD.  Note:  Given time needed to establish the Coalition, create a website and determine and plan strategies for ‘getting the word out’, outreach to other organizations, and even to Texas IDD providers, was initially minimal. Now that the Coalition has officially launched, it is actively reaching out to prospective supporters.
Why are emergency funds needed?
  • To increase the wages of direct care working in ICF/IID and HCS group homes.  The 88th Texas Legislature only appropriated funds to increase wages of direct care working in the ICF/IID and HCS group homes to $10.60/hour.  The increase does not afford IDD service providers the competitive edge needed to maintain or recruit hardworking, dedicated caregivers. These caregivers deserve to be paid a wage that is commensurate with their work and their contributions to the lives of people with IDD.
  • To protect individuals’ access to IDD services – in short, preserve the IDD service system.  The already prevalent and growing shortage of direct care staff supporting individuals with IDD is rapidly increasing and directly contributing to group home closures, displacement of individuals and decreased stability leading to more behavioral episodes and medical events.  Without emergency funding, the current network of IDD providers will continue to shrink, eroding not only individuals’ choices in where they receive and who provides their services, but also placing at risk their health and safety and desire to remain in the community.
Are there other funding sources available to increase IDD direct care wages?  No!  Medicaid is the sole source of funding for IDD services.  The only way to increase pay for direct care staff is for the Legislature to appropriate funds.
Where can one find out more about the Coalition, its activities and current list of supporters?  Though not all sections have been fully developed with a few needing  some tweaks to ensure clarity in the Coalition’s message, the website may be viewed at:  https://timetocaretx.org/
What does support entail?  There are various options available to participate and support the Coalition.  Organizations can choose all of the options or just one or two of the options.
  • Donating to the Coalition, though it’s important to note that a monetary donation is not required.
  • Consenting to have your organization’s logo on the Time to Care website.  If interested in this option, complete this Release Form and send, along with your company logo, to:  IDD@pluspr.com.
  • Sharing information about the Coalition with others both within your organization (staff, families and individuals you serve) and outside your organization (such as churches, vendors/businesses or parent groups).
  • Posting information and news about the Coalition on one’s website, Facebook and any other social media one uses.

 

 

 

***Twogether Consulting would ask that you please share this information and website.