Affordable Care Act:
California Personal and Home Care Aide
State Training
California Community College, Board of
Governors
Health Workforce Initiative
Advisory Committee
May 17, 2013
Mary Adney, Project Coordinator
California Partnership
5/17/2013
California PHCAST
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CA PHCAST – Importance of
Program
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Estimated 1 million people in CA will be over age 85 by
2030 and the need for Personal Care Aides in CA will
increase by 29% as early as 2016
Health care dollars go nearly 3 times farther when the
elderly and disabled are cared for at home or in community
based settings
The CA PHCAST program is designed to meet the needs
of an aging population and provide job training and skills
for an in-demand occupation to an underemployed segment
of our population.
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CA PHCAST – Key Elements
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Objective: Creation of standardized
competency based curriculum for personal care
aides
Classroom training offered in 3 community
colleges and 1 personal care assistant training
facility
Classroom training – 100 hours, 25 modules
On-Line training offered by a leading home care
association
Target audience: Train previously impoverished,
unemployed or underemployed workers
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Participating Training Locations
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Mission College, Santa Clara, CA
Mount San Antonio College, Walnut, CA
North Orange County Community College
District, Anaheim , CA
Training Academy for Personal Caregivers and
Assistants, San Francisco, CA
( a program of In-Home Supportive Services Consortium, San Francisco)
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California Association for Health Services at
Home, Sacramento, CA
5/17/2013
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CA PHCAST Grant Year One
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Adopted Curriculum – PHI’s Providing Personal
Care Services to Elders and People with Disabilities:
A Model Curriculum for Direct Care Workers
Based on DOL competencies, developed two
additional modules –
Client Services Excellence
Job Readiness Skills
Formed Advisory Council consisting of government,
community and industry partners to review and
evaluate program’s objectives and direction
Evaluation- Adopted pre/post training data collection
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CA PHCAST Grant Year Two
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Between September 2011 and March 2013,
conducted 40 trainings in four sites and trained
over 750 participants
Assessments – participants must pass 10 written
assessments and demonstrate 10 pre-selected skills
Training Verification – recognized by employers
Pre/Post training data collection including 6 month
follow up survey
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CA PHCAST Grant Year 3
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Continue to conduct classroom training in 4 sites
– estimate will train 950 total participants in
grant period
Pilot of on-line curriculum for distance learning
option – preliminary results
Continue Pre/Post training data collection
including 6 month follow up survey
Creating stackable credentials – work with state
on mechanism for giving credit for training
received when applying to other programs
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CA PHCAST Learnings
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Training – need to over recruit for this target group;
trainees need help with language, transportation, child
care, life skills to succeed in training
Ongoing contact needed with trainees to follow up on
training and connect with employers
PCA training serves as entry point into healthcare –
*confidence for other certificate programs
*coupled with other trainings enhance employment
opportunity
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Description of Our Trainees
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Our typical personal care aide trainee:
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Female
Late 40s to early 50s in age
Latino or Asian
Single
Unemployed
High School graduate with some college
$0-$21,000 yearly income range
Seeking to advance career in health related field
California PHCAST
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Why I took this training…..
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To learn, enhance, or develop new
skills/knowledge
To change/get new or get better job/career
Like caring for/working with elderly/people
with disabilities
Like caring for or helping people (exclusive of
above)
To work in medical/healthcare field (e.g., nurse,
CNA)
To care for family and/or friends
Certification/credentials (e.g., for job; CPR)
Affordable/free training
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Post Training Satisfaction Survey
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Most respondents “strongly agree” or “agree”
 Course length, location, accessibility
 Instructors were knowledgeable and well
prepared
 Instructors explained materials and answered
questions
 Course materials were easy to understand
 Quizzes and tests were helpful to learning
process
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Post Training Assessment of
Preparedness
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Most respondents “strongly agree” or “agree” that
the course:
 Increased their knowledge
 Prepared them to work
 Provided hands-on knowledge and skills
 Will make it easier to get a job in personal or
home care
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Post Training Assessment:
Career Intentions
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As a result of the course, the majority of
respondents:
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Plan to continue their education in home care or health
care
Intend to get a job in personal or home care
Would like to advance in their job as personal or home
care aide
View profession as a stepping stone to better paying
jobs
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6 Month Follow Up Survey
Results
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Very preliminary results not yet analyzed: based on 111
surveys
36% of respondents worked as home care giver prior to
training – 6 months later 51% working as care giver
Of working PCAs 47% making higher hourly rate post
training, 40% making the same rate
88% refer back to things learned in training
95% felt the training left them well prepared for home care
aide job
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CA PHCAST Success Stories
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A young single mother pursued this training after
caring for her terminally ill mother
She was hired by an in-home support services
(IHSS) employer
She spoke at the graduation ceremony
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“Don’t stop dreaming…10 years ago, I would not have
dreamt that I would end up doing something I love and
now have the resources to even think about buying a
home.”
Provided by TAPCA
5/17/2013
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CA PHCAST Success Stories
A PCA student in the summer 2012 Mt. SAC class
relocated to another state. An excerpt from her email:
The purpose of this message is to thank you …. My CPR Certification and basic healthcare training gave me quite the advantage in the selection of my hiring. I must also mention
that my resume and interviewing skills also acquired during this course were extremely
beneficial. Everything I learned was of extreme value to me and has helped me advance in
my career.
I am happy to share with you, that my starting wage was $15.87 per hour with benefits!
Since my training began, I have demonstrated knowledge of the following; Universal
Precautions, Preventing the Spread of Germs, Disposing of Hazardous Materials and Sharps,
the 6 Patient Rights, and much more. I must emphasize the knowledge I acquired (in PCA
training) provided the firm foundation I needed and I sincerely appreciate your faith
Provided by Mount San Antonio Community College
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CA PHCAST Success Stories
Thank you! So far, the PCA class has been the most
comprehensive and rigorous course in my healthcare training.
I benefited greatly from the skills and information given
during the class. Your course helped me in both my skills and
written tests for CNA licensing. I would also like to say that I
was one of the long-term unemployed, over 60 years old, and
trying to find a new career. This class, offered free at the time,
was a godsend for me and provided a pathway to that new
career in the medical field.
Thank you note from participant in North Orange Community College
District in Anaheim.
5/17/2013
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CA PHCAST Success Stories
“We are giving an opportunity to some of the neediest
students because when they take the PCA course, they have
the opportunity to get on a community college campus, and be
successful sometime for the FIRST time in their life in an
educational program. The student is then armed with basic
health care skills, new knowledge and increased self-esteem,
this allows the student to take the next step, and sign up for
the Nurse Assistant course and clinical.”
Ann Cowels, Department Chair, Health Occupations, Mission College
5/17/2013
California PHCAST
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CA PHCAST- Future Goals
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Better link trainees to job opportunities
Work with state or national entities to establish
standards for training
Expand geographic reach of the training programs
Assess impact of training on client outcomes
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CA PHCAST Contact
Information
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Barbara Freund, PhD, RN – Project Director
Pasadena City College
bmfreund@pasadena.edu
(626) 585-7326
Mary Adney – Project Coordinator
Pasadena City College
mradney@pasadena.edu
(626) 585-7469
Susan A. Chapman, PhD, RN - Project Evaluator
University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing
susan.chapman@ucsf.edu
(415) 502-4419
5/17/2013
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