Office of Aging and People with Disabilities gives committee overview of long‑term care programs and workforce challenges

The House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services heard an informational briefing from the Office of Aging and People with Disabilities (APD) on the agency’s programs, funding, licensing responsibilities and workforce challenges.

Jane Ellen Whiteance, APD deputy director for policy, told the committee the agency touches roughly 400,000 Oregonians annually through programs that serve older adults and people with disabilities, including information and assistance, long‑term services and supports, adult protective services, brain injury services and licensing for care facilities. Whiteance said APD administers Oregon Project Independence (both classic and Medicaid matched variants) and partners with Area Agencies on Aging to deliver Older Americans Act‑funded services.

Whiteance outlined APD’s funding mix and infrastructure: about 59 percent of the agency’s budget comes from federal funds, roughly 35 percent from state general fund, and about 6 percent from other funds, with additional provider assessments and estate‑recovery mechanisms mentioned as financing elements. She described that most people served remain in their own homes and that APD takes pride in the state’s record of supporting home‑based care.

On licensed care settings, Whiteance said the agency licenses nursing facilities, assisted living and residential care facilities, adult foster homes, adult day services and home‑care workers. She reported counts during her presentation — which the committee asked to verify as part of follow‑up — including 128 nursing facilities, roughly 237 assisted‑living facilities, 330 residential care facilities and more than 20,000 home‑care workers; she also said that adult day services are comparatively rare in Oregon. The agency described several initiatives to strengthen quality and capacity: an acuity‑based staffing tool, ARPA‑funded projects to improve access and quality, a recruitment campaign for adult foster homes and home‑care workers using local nonprofits as “matchmakers,” and emergency response supports for provider evacuations.

Whiteance and committee members discussed workforce pay and retention. The agency has completed a rate and wage study recommending minimum wages for direct care workers and is pursuing new rate models for adult foster homes and other services. Whiteance said many direct care workers are women, often rely on public assistance, and the workforce faces recruitment and retention challenges across the state.

Representative Noss asked for more detail about recruitment efforts; Whiteance described an externally contracted media campaign and local nonprofit partners that help applicants complete background checks, training and match‑making with consumers. Vice Chair Scharf asked about quality measurement and regulatory practices; Whiteance said licensing, case management and adult protective services combine to oversee adult foster homes and other providers, and that some high‑acuity adult foster homes have specific contractual requirements that add oversight.

Whiteance closed by noting APD’s ongoing work to improve licensing timeliness, invest in workforce supports and pursue policy options that include strengthening safety and revising adult foster home rates. The informational session did not involve any legislative action; committee members asked for additional information on funding match levels, program specifics and the recruitment campaign.

Why this matters: APD oversees core long‑term care services and regulation statewide and identified workforce and rate‑setting issues that could affect the availability and quality of home‑ and community‑based care for older adults and people with disabilities.