Home‑care groups warn long waits, low wages are keeping seniors from safe aging at home

Marla LaHad, executive director of Home Care Partners, told the Committee on Executive Administration and Labor that DACL‑funded home‑care programs are increasingly unable to meet demand. “New clients face wait times of 8 to 9 months before their projects can begin,” she said, noting Safe at Home has completed nearly 8,000 modifications but sees demand far outstrip available funding.

LaHad and other witnesses tied long waits to flat funding and staffing shortages. “Workforce shortages and long‑term care cannot be solved by one agency alone,” LaHad said, urging “intentional interagency collaboration and sustained council leadership.” Rhonda Cunningham Holmes, executive director of Legal Counsel for the Elderly, said an additional $110,000 one‑time boost to the LCE hotline made a measurable difference and asked the council to make that funding recurring so legal help can keep pace with older residents’ needs. Her group also highlighted high returns on investment: the hotline’s work returned more than $214,000 to households last year.

Council members pressed DACL and providers on possible remedies: raising wages, making licensing portable across the region, increasing training slots and recruiting younger workers. DACL staff agreed workforce development must be a joint effort and offered to follow up with DC Health and training partners about licensure reciprocity and recruitment strategies. The committee asked DACL to supply a more detailed breakdown of wait lists, per‑participant meal and service costs, and projections for how many additional staff and dollars are needed to eliminate current backlogs.