Male nurse talking to seniors patients while being in a home visit.

If there is a blueprint for solving the caregiver crisis, Wisconsin may have it. This summer, the Badger State will roll out the second phase of its WisCaregiver Careers program with the goal of recruiting and training 10,000 new home care workers in the first year. 

The program, which the state developed with American Rescue Plan Act funding, will train enrollees in a set of core competencies to treat patients in their homes, assisted living facilities or other community-based settings. Following certification as a direct care professional, a caregiver will be placed on a registry and connected to local agencies in need of staff. The worker will receive a sign-on bonus once they are hired and a retention bonus after six months. 

Lessons learned from 2018

The home care program is a follow-up to a similar program Wisconsin launched in 2018 with help from PHI National to certify nursing assistants for jobs in nursing homes. Kevin Coughlin, who is heading up the program through the Wisconsin Division of Health Services, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse the state learned valuable lessons from that program, which is provided through technical colleges. He said it has been tough recruiting candidates in rural areas for that program, so the state opted to provide online training for the home care certification program.

“Our academic partners are using a lot of the techniques that will make it feel that it is in-person as much as possible,” Coughlin explained. “We will also have a virtual live proctored exam. With online on-demand, we feel that it will be very accessible.” 

Like most states, Wisconsin has a shortage of direct caregivers. However, it also has the added disadvantage of being an aging, rural state. A 2017 study by PHI National found Wisconsin had fewer than 40,000 direct care workers. However, the state’s elderly population is expected to grow from 288,00 to 640,000 between 2015 and 2040.

Model for other states? 

Robert Espinoza, PHI’s executive vice president of policy, said Wisconsin’s training program could be a game changer in recruiting and training workers for home- and community-based services.

“This model where workers are trained in a standard set of core competencies, and then they’re able to carry that recognized credential with them, makes the workforce more versatile and the job more appealing,” Espinoza said in a statement. “This is really what other states and the sector should do.”

Coughlin said the state is currently putting the finishing touches on the program and will begin recruiting candidates shortly on WisCaregiver Careers website. The program is already generating buzz.