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Committee hears proposal to support assisted‑living recruitment, urges targeted legislation
Summary
The Coordinating Council proposed language to help assisted‑living facilities and community‑based providers recruit and retain qualified staff, and to support competitive wages for aides not covered by Medicaid waivers; staff recommended monitoring specific bills and examining training pipelines.
Committee members reviewed a proposal from the Coordinating Council on Aging and Adults with Disabilities to add language to the long‑term care workforce position advocating support for provider recruitment and retention and competitive salaries for paraprofessionals not funded through Medicaid waivers.
Ariel McAloon, the county’s human-services legislative liaison, said the recommendation responds to pandemic-era changes that briefly allowed parents to be paid caregivers and to ongoing staffing shortages in assisted-living and community-based settings. She noted changes to auxiliary grant rates in recent years but said those increases alone have not expanded facility capacity.
Members discussed supply‑side fixes and training pipelines. The county’s Northern Virginia Community College was identified as a major trainer and potential lever for state funding to expand certified provider training. Supervisors suggested looking at quality‑improvement frameworks and reviewing creative ideas—such as housing supports—that could require state action to increase workforce supply and retention.
Staff recommended monitoring for specific legislation and returning to the board when concrete bills and fiscal impacts are known; no formal action was taken.
