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Informational hearing on home‑and‑community care standards board prompts debate over scope, funding
Summary
Senate Bill 1138 would create a Home and Community Based Services Workforce Standards Board to set wages, benefits, training and staffing standards across multiple care settings. Proponents argued a board could address high turnover and low pay; opponents warned it could duplicate regulation, raise costs and worsen access without state funding.
The Senate Committee on Labor and Business held an informational hearing March 18 on Senate Bill 1138, which would establish a Home and Community Based Services Workforce Standards Board to set industrywide standards for wages, benefits, training and staffing across multiple care settings.
Proponents, including Melissa Unger of SEIU Local 503 and David Madland of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, said the board would give workers, employers and consumers a forum to set standards, address turnover and improve job quality. Unger told the committee, "Caregivers face poverty wages, burnout, and extreme turnover, threatening quality care as demand rises," and argued the board is a tool to bring affected parties together to set standards and career pathways.
Bill summary and proposed changes:…
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