Speeches by Secretary Elaine L. Chao
Archived Speech — Caution: Information may be out of date.
As Delivered
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
ANCOR
Conference
Washington, D.C.
September 24, 2002
Thank you for that kind introduction.
I want to thank President Than Johnson, President-elect Fred Romkema, and CEO Renee Pietrangelo for their service.
I also want to you to know that you have a great advocate in Haley Barbour.
Later today, you’ll be presenting ANCOR congressional awards to Senator Bunning and Congressman Lewis. They are both great Americans.
I am also glad to see Ron Geary and Kelley Abell here. Ron is CEO of ResCare in Louisville, Kentucky, the largest service provider in the country. They’re tremendously dedicated to this community.
I want to begin by saying ANCOR members are providing wonderful community living and employment support and services to Americans with mental retardation and other disabilities. This association of organizations and companies represent the heart of the American spirit—a spirit that believes every human has worth and value and dignity.
The supports and services you provide touch the lives of over 260,000 Americans with mental retardation and other disabilities, as well as their families. Because of the work you do, people with disabilities are living more self-directed, independent lives in their communities.
On behalf of President George W. Bush and his entire Administration, I want to say “thank you.”
ANCOR representatives have met with Department of Labor more times than I can count. We may just have to give you a permanent DOL badge!
Your meetings with the Assistant Secretary of Policy, ODEP, ETA, and Wage and Hour, have been so important in helping the government understand your concerns. You are educating us about the growing crisis in recruiting, training, and retraining direct support professionals.
Again, we are listening and we are responding.
For example, the Department of Labor has terminated the companionship rulemaking that was slipped in at the last minute by the previous Administration.
We believe that companions provide essential support to those men and women and children who remain at home.
Raising costs and reducing access, restricting working hours and increasing paperwork is not the answer. With your help, the Department terminated the rule and restored more flexibility for individuals with mental retardation and other disabilities and their families!
The Department has also listed Direct Support Specialist in the Directory of Occupational Titles. Now, some outside of this audience might not understand its significance, but we know that this small change allows for big openings in training and recognition.
ANCOR has also worked with the Department on shaping the policies for the President’s New Freedom Initiative.
This initiative, and the President’s Executive Order to bring swift and full implementation of the Olmstead Decision, are key priorities at the Department of Labor.
ANCOR members and the direct support workers you represent are critical to the success of the New Freedom Initiative and the Executive Order.
I want to thank you for submitting extensive recommendations last August as part of the President’s Executive Order, especially your recommendations to the Department of Labor.
I also appreciate your testimony on WIA reauthorization in the inter-agency forum this summer. We need your input on how the Department can better utilize the Workforce Investment Boards and One-Stops to make sure we meet the needs of both public and private providers, as well as job seekers.
The paraprofessional long-term care workforce—from nursing assistants to home health and home care aides to personal care workers and attendants—is the cornerstone of America’s long-term care system. They provide hands-on care, supervision, and emotional support to millions of Americans with chronic illnesses and disabilities.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, the number of home health and personal care aides is nearly equal to the number of nursing assistants, roughly 750,000.
As you know, with an aging population and other industry challenges, the future availability of frontline direct care workers does not look promising. In fact, BLS estimates that by 2006, personal and home care assistance will be the fourth-fastest growing occupation with a growth rate of 84.7%.
Between 1998 and 2008, America needs around 750,000 more personal care and home health care workers. Unfortunately, many of these positions will go unfilled, unless we take action.
The solution is not simply one of supply. The more fundamental, long-term challenge is how to develop a committed, stable pool of workers who are willing, able, and skilled to provide quality care. I am committed to addressing both the short and the long-term challenges, so we can design quality systems of care for people with disabilities.
The Department is making significant progress, but we still need your input on issues concerning earnings opportunities, employment status, and labor supply of personal assistants and other community workers.
Here are some actions that are either planned or are currently underway at the Department:
- The Office of Disability Employment Policy, or ODEP, led by Dr. Roy Grizzard, is working to identify options and to develop an inter-agency/inter-department plan that will increase the availability and quality of personal assistants and identify other options for education, training, and career advancement for these workers and other direct care staff.
- More specifically, the Department of Labor and HHS are taking a detailed look at the challenges to the industry, as well as providing recommendations on how to address the worker and skill shortage.
- ODEP and its partners will convene a listening session for people with disabilities. A similar listening session will be held for service providers and other direct care staff and community service workers. Your organization, ANCOR, certainly will be a part of these sessions.
- ODEP and ETA are working to increase access to personal assistance supports through the One-Stop Centers.
- And ODEP is expected to establish an on-line registry, similar to America’s Job Bank, where local or community-based organizations, like yours, can help locate more workers.
The Administration is listening to ANCOR, and we still have a lot left to do. I know we will continue to work together to provide stable community infrastructure for the future of individuals with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities. Much of that relies on a quality, highly-trained direct support workforce, and we are committed to making it happen.
Thanks again for inviting me to be here today. I look forward to working with ANCOR and its members to expand your supports and services in the years to come. When government, associations, business, and individuals work together, we can build a more welcoming and promising future for all Americans.
Thank you.
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Archived Speech — Caution: Information may be out of date.
