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MCIL Announces Pioneering PCA Curriculum Program

Pioneering PCA Curriculum Program will address critical direct care workforce crisis while offering meaningful career path and opportunities

May 5, 2022, ST. PAUL: The State of Minnesota, and our nation, face an unprecedented crisis in hiring and retaining direct care workers, also referred to as Personal Care Assistants (PCA). The PCA shortage holds dire consequences.

“For our elders and citizens living with disabilities there is no quality of life unless a well-trained, fairly compensated workforce of Personal Care Assistants and Direct Support Professionals is maintained,” stated Beth Fondell, Metropolitan Center for Independent Living, Board Chair. “The crisis of support has now become an emergency. Recognizing the lack of opportunities for growth and development in this profession has stifled recruitment and increased turnover to levels not previously witnessed.”

Metropolitan Center for Independent Living (MCIL), through a committee of stakeholders, is pleased to announce that a groundbreaking solution is underway.

The Bush Foundation provided MCIL a generous $208,000 Community Innovation Grant to help solve the  PCA worker shortage crisis. Those funds support the work of MCIL’s PCA Community Innovation Project committee. The committee collaborated closely for the past three years in a shared mission to create meaningful, lasting reform that deepens career opportunities, attracts more people to new career paths,
and expands the PCA workforce. The committee’s collective effort has resulted in the landmark approach to solve the crisis by planning to develop a first-ever credit-based curriculum leading to the credential of a Certified Personal Care Assistant. Faculty at Minnesota State have also been identified to work on this far-reaching project.

The PCA Certification, based partly on the Independent Living Philosophy, is being developed as a voluntary third tier to Minnesota’s PCA Career Lattice for the 100,000+ PCAs in Minnesota and potentially for the nearly four million PCAs across the United States. Once the curriculum is completed, plans include, in cooperation and concurrence with appropriate institutions, offering this credited curriculum through high schools, post-secondary educational institutions, and workforce training centers, giving individuals direct access to a career offering professional growth opportunities, living wages, and immense personal rewards. The committee is also pursuing a formal PCA apprenticeship program with the State of Minnesota and the U.S. Department of Labor, which requires formalized education to be met by the Certified PCA curriculum. The committee is also interested in a PCA service corps education model.

“I do not know of a more severe crisis than what we are experiencing today in the Home and Community Base Services system with so many closings of Group Homes, Nursing Homes, severe worker shortages throughout our Long-Term Services and Supports system including Minnesota’s PCA Programs,” said Jesse Bethke Gomez, MCIL Executive Director. “We need to bring forth solutions such as the curriculum leading to the credential of the Certified PCA. With the development of this new Certified PCA curriculum along with the PCA Rate Framework passed into law in 2021, this is about solving the PCA crisis, and it is also about economic justice for PCAs."

The direct care workforce has the highest percentages of female and diverse workers than any other workforce sector and will see increased demand for services in the coming years. There are nearly 140,000 people employed in the direct care workforce in Minnesota, with the greatest proportion being Personal Care Assistants. The Certified Personal Care Assistant program addresses the workforce shortage while advancing economic equity through an industry-adopted credentialed career.

According to the state’s demographer, 612,000 Minnesotans have a serious disability. Furthermore, Minnesota’s elderly population in 2018 was 865,000 and is projected to rise to 1,262,000 by 2030. Dawn Simonson, Trellis President and CEO, shared, “As the metro region’s Area Agency on Aging, we applaud the development of a PCA curriculum that values the specific needs of older adults who need personal care to live in their home of choice. We appreciated the opportunity to provide input into the curriculum drawing on our perspectives as social workers and other professionals who touch the lives of more than 45,000 older adults every year.”

The Metropolitan Center for Independent Living (MCIL) played a critical role in drafting the Report on “Recommendations to Expand, Diversify and Improve Minnesota's Direct Care and Support Workforce.” MCIL Executive Director Jesse Bethke Gomez was among the technical writers for the Direct Care Workforce Report and served on the committee along with the then MCIL Board Chair Jeff Bangsberg. In March 2018, the Minnesota Omstead Sub-Cabinet approved the report and its recommendations, including “provide tiered credential options and career ladders for direct care and support professionals.”

In response to the report and in recognition of the workforce crisis, the legislature passed into law the Minnesota PCA Rate Framework in 2021, which considers competitive workforce factors such as compensation for similar positions. The new law, together with the Certified Personal Care Assistant program, can solve the equation of how, finally, a formal education program for PCAs, leads to higher, livable wages, long elusive for the PCA sector for the past 40 years.

Jesse Bethke Gomez, MCIL Executive Director: “We are grateful to The Bush Foundation and the MCIL Community Innovation PCA Committee who have helped to create the way forward and to Valerie DeFor, Executive Director of the Minnesota State HealthForce Center of Excellence, within Minnesota State, for her extraordinary expertise and leadership in working with the MCIL Community Innovation PCA Committee and on identifying faculty for the development of the college credit curriculum leading to the credential of a Certified PCA. We are thrilled to embark upon this endeavor as a scalable solution for Minnesota and for the United States.”

About MCIL: The Metropolitan Center for Independent Living (MCIL) is a Twin Cities based nonprofit 501(c)(3) consumer-directed organization founded in 1981. The mission of MCIL is "Removing Barriers, Promoting Choices" and is dedicated to the full realization of Independent Living (IL) philosophy in society by assisting individuals with disabilities in their pursuit of independent living. MCIL is one of eight Centers for Independent Living in Minnesota and is a member agency of the Minnesota Association of Centers for Independent Living. Visit MCIL-MN.org

The Road to Equity: Advocating for and supporting Minnesota’s disability community through COVID-19

MCIL is grateful to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) for their recently published story featuring an interview with our COVID Community Coordinators!

"Early in the pandemic, MDH was hearing a need from the disability community to have a stronger partnership and be able to provide more input on decisions regarding the COVID-19 response. As a result, MDH brought together a small team of staff to address the needs and concerns of people with disabilities in Minnesota during the COVID-19 pandemic. This team, which came to be known as the disability unit, has worked to provide ongoing assessment, community engagement, guidance development, and other critical advocacy related to persons with disabilities in the COVID-19 response. Since then, the work of this team and their partners have expanded to forge new partnerships, meet specific community needs, and engage community members. One partnership that MDH developed was with Metropolitan Center for Independent Living (MCIL)."

Read the full article on the MDH website.

(Please note we cannot guarantee the accessibility of outside links and resources)

MNSILC Seeking Youth Submissions

Minnesota Statewide Independent Living Council (MNSILC) is seeking submissions of creative works from youth around the state of Minnesota for their Fall Conference. They are interested in what our youth have to say and they want to hear from them as they strive to create a more independent living environment for individuals living with disabilities. Independent living is having opportunities to make decisions that affect one's life, the ability to pursue activities of one's own choosing - limited only in the same ways that one's nondisabled neighbors are limited.

The Details

  • What – MNSILC is looking for creative works from MN youth.
  • Theme – How can we change the world to make it a better place for people living with disabilities?
  • Reward – All works will be displayed at their Fall Conference as space allows. Selected winners will be published on MNSILC platforms and featured in some of their publications.
  • Who – Minnesota youth up to age 24
  • When – All submissions are due by June 30, 2022.
  • Where to send – Digital submission can be emailed to mnsilc1215@gmail.com and physical submissions can be mailed to MNSILC, 13189 Gladiola Way, Apple Valley, MN 55124.
  • How are winners determined – Representatives of the MNSILC will make the final choices.

What is a creative work?

  • A story
  • A poem
  • An article
  • A photograph
  • A painting, drawing
  • Music or a song
  • A video

Questions?

  • Call 612-518-1497 or email mnsilc1215@gmail.com

Resources to help you get vaccinated

MCIL is proud to be partnered with the State as a COVID-19 Community Coordinator. In this role, we are working with the State to ensure people with disabilities in Minnesota have access to the Minnesota COVID-19 Vaccine Connector and other COVID-19 information specific to their communities, including in multiple languages.

Our COVID Community Coordinator page now includes a "How to get vaccinated" section, which includes information about the latest opportunities to get the vaccine and how to get accessibility accommodations.

Click here to learn more.

The COVID-19 Pandemic – Strategies moving forward

The April 2021 edition of Minnesota Physician includes the 52nd session of the Minnesota Health Care Roundtable. This roundtable includes MCIL Executive Director Jesse Bethke Gomez, and features a discussion about lessons learned from, and preparing for life after, the pandemic.

Click here to read the full article on the Minnesota Physician website.

(Please note we cannot guarantee the accessibility of outside links and resources)

Ed Roberts Day Minnesota Commendation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information contact:

Jesse Bethke Gomez, MMA, MCIL Executive Director 651-603-2012 | jessebg@mcil-mn.org

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz Offers Certificate of Commendation for January 23, 2021 as "Ed Roberts Day"

January 23, 2021 as “Ed Roberts Day”

Commendation honors disability rights activist and recognizes critical role of independent-living programs and practices

ST. PAUL, Jan. 23, 2021: Recognizing the lasting legacy of disability rights advocate Ed Roberts, and the vital role the Independent Living Philosophy—which he pioneered—plays in the lives of Minnesotans with disabilities, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz issued a Certificate of Commendation celebrating January 23, 2021, “Ed Roberts Day.” The Commendation is notable recognition of the critical mission Minnesota’s Centers for Independent Living share to ensure Minnesotans with disabilities and their families can achieve the same civil rights and control over choices in their own lives as people without disabilities.

“Ed Roberts made activism for disability rights his life’s work,” said Governor Tim Walz. “Few have done as much to advance the causes of expanding access for students with disabilities and creating communities that are barrier-free. He left an incredible legacy, and I’m pleased to offer this Certificate of Commendation honoring his contributions.”

Born on January 23, 1939, Ed Roberts contracted polio at age 14. Paralyzed from the neck down, he required an iron lung or respirator to breathe. After completing his high school education, he was the first student with significant disabilities to attend the University of California, Berkeley, where he founded the college’s Physically Disabled Students Program, which became the model for Berkeley’s Center for Independent Living. Today, there are more than 400 independent living centers across the country, including eight in Minnesota. Roberts was the first California State Director of Rehabilitation with a disability, was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, and was co–founder and President of the World Institute on Disability.

Roberts spent his lifetime overcoming countless obstacles and fighting to ensure all people with disabilities could fully participate in society. The United States House of Representatives declared January 23, 2011, “Ed Roberts Day,” which is now recognized at federal and state levels across the country, including Minnesota.

"Ed Roberts was a trailblazer who made it his life's work to fight for the civil rights of people with disabilities," said Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman. "His incredible legacy and spirit serve as an inspiration in our work to eliminate barriers and improve the lives of Minnesotans with disabilities."

“Ed Roberts was truly a pioneer in changing perspectives about the disability community,” said President of the Minnesota Senate Jeremy Miller. “He’s responsible for much of the progress that’s been made, and I’m glad to see the state of Minnesota recognize his work and his leadership with this honor.”

Under Minnesota Statute 268A.01, Minnesota’s Centers for Independent Living assist Minnesotans with disabilities and their families in accessing supports designed for the unique needs of every individual and ensuring equal access, inclusion, and independence. The Centers are guided by the State Plan for Independent Living from the Minnesota Statewide Independent Living Council MN (Statute 268A.02). In Minnesota, close to 600,000 individuals report having a disability.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, nearly 220,000 people or approximately 4

percent of Minnesota’s population live with serious mental health conditions.

“We are honored Governor Walz offered the Certificate of Commendation for Ed Roberts Day, and thank House Speaker Hortman and Senate President Miller for their thoughtful remarks,” said Metropolitan Center for Independent Living Board Chair Jeff Bangsberg. “The Independent Living Philosophy is foundational to our work to ensure people with disabilities can live their most independent lives. Our commitment to Removing Barriers and Promoting Choices is rooted in Ed Roberts’ lifetime of advocacy and advancing opportunities for people with disabilities. In light of these difficult times and ongoing challenges facing members of the disability community, we are grateful to Governor Walz and our legislative leadership for shining a light on the enduring impact of Ed Roberts’ work and the critical role the Centers for Independent Living play in the lives of so many across our great state.”

Learn more about Ed Roberts’ life and legacy at https://www.edrobertscampus.org/about/

Learn more about Minnesota’s Centers for Independent Living at https://www.macil.org

###

Minnesota Association of Centers for Independent Living 2200 2nd ST SW |Rochester, MN 55902 | www.macil.org

1-23-21 Ed Roberts Day Minnesota Commendation PDF Version (147 KB)

 

Distribution Plan for the COVID-19 temporary 8.4% rate increase

Distribution Plan for the COVID-19 temporary 8.4% rate increase

Metropolitan Center for Independent Living

This plan will be posted onsite at 530 Robert St North and online at www.mcil-mn.org from December 20, 2020 until at least January 30, 2021

In response to COVID-19, the Minnesota Legislature approved a temporary rate increase of 8.4% to begin tentatively on Dec. 1, 2020 and will be in effect until approximately February 7, 2021. The legislature is requiring that each PCA agency dedicate 80% of the temporary increase towards wages, benefits, and payroll taxes for PCAs. This amounts to 6.72%. As a result of this legislation, you will see a direct 6% increase in your wages (retroactive to 12/01/20). The remaining .72% goes toward increase in FICA taxes, Medicare taxes, state/federal unemployment taxes and workers' compensation premiums. The other 20% must be spent on the cost for activities and items necessary to support compliance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance on sanitation and personal protective equipment.

This rate increase does not apply to Qualified Professionals or office staff.

If any PCA does not feel that they received the compensation related increase as required, you should contact Michelle Vrieze at 651-603-2030, and you may also contact the Department of Human Services:

By Mail

Minnesota Department of Human Services
Community Supports and Continuing Care for Older Adults
PCA Temporary Rate Increase
P.O. Box 64967
St. Paul, MN 55164-0967

By Email

Email questions to dhs.ccarates@state.mn.us. DHS will direct the questions to the person who can best provide an answer.
By Phone

If -you have questions, you can call the DSD Response Center at 651-431-4300. DHS will direct the questions to the person who can best provide an answer.

Note: The telephone number listed is a voice number. TDD users may call the Minnesota Relay at 711 or 800-627-3529. For the speech-to-speech relay, call 877-627-3848.

Reference: https://mn.gov/dhs/partners-and-providers/news-initiatives-reports-workgroups/long-term-services-and-supports/pca-enhanced-rate/covid-8.4-increase.jsp

Click here for PDF version of the Distribution Plan (13 KB)

Online Survey: Wheelchair accessibility in ridesharing through Uber and Lyft

WHAT: Seeking participation of wheelchair/scooter users anywhere in the U.S in a research project out of Virginia Tech (Research Project IRB # 20-629).

RESEARCH TITLE: Wheelchair accessibility in ridesharing through Uber and Lyft

STUDY PURPOSE: The purpose of this research is to develop a greater understanding of the accessibility of service hailed through Uber and Lyft apps from the perspective of wheelchair/scooter users and support informed policy making. The study is not affiliated with Uber or Lyft.

WHO: You are a wheelchair or scooter user (at some point in the past, currently, occasionally, sometimes, full-time) and live anywhere in the US. You may or may not have experience with Uber or Lyft. The study is interested in impressions too.

HOW: Eligible participants will complete an online survey that takes less than 10 minutes for those without experience with Uber and Lyft and about 15 minutes for those with experience.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please email ul_wheelchair@vt.edu or call 202-643-2474.

OTHER: You will be entered into a drawing for three $50 gift cards from Amazon in appreciation of your time and effort upon completing the online survey.

LINK: Click the link to go to the online survey: Wheelchair Accessibility of Ridesharing Hailed Through Uber and Lyft (qualtrics.com)

A chance to review and renew the celebration!

With more than 400 people registered to participate in the ADA 30th Anniversary / National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) 75th Anniversary virtual event, participants experienced a new and novel way to celebrate. The free, online 90-minute event offered attendees a variety of presentations, education, artist works, and reason for celebration.

We are grateful to all those who served as presenters, providing expertise and insight, artistic inspiration, heartfelt commentary, and civic leadership. This truly successful virtual gathering was made accessible thanks to the technological expertise of a team from Minnesota State, Metropolitan State University, and the Assistive Technology Lab at St. Cloud State University. Thanks also to all the organizations who served as host sponsors and to the planning committee for their commitment to creating this important event.

#thankstotheada

This is the Thanks to the ADA Campaign introductory video created by the Great Lakes ADA Center.

https://adaminnesota.org/thankstotheada/

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Metropolitan Center for Independent Living
530 Robert Street North
St Paul, MN 55101
Voice: 651-646-8342
Email: info@mcil-mn.org

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