National Long-Term Care Workforce Network - Meeting #12

The 12th meeting of the CSG National Long-Term Care Workforce Network will highlight two initiatives from ADvancing States, the organization that represents the nation’s 56 state and territorial agencies on aging and disabilities and long-term services and supports directors. ADvancing States recently published a report on lessons learned from the state implementation of ARPA HCBS spending plans. Under Section 9817 of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), states were able to access $37 billion in funds to invest in Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS). States had to act within a short timeframe to identify and implement projects that would expand, enhance and strengthen HCBS, and combine them into spending plans subject to approval by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Included in these spending plans were more than 900 projects, many of which focused on workforce needs. ADvancing States Deputy Executive Director Camille Dobson will provide an overview of the report and its findings. Plus, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives April Young will provide an update on the intensive technical assistance ADvancing States and its partners are providing to states to address the workforce crisis through the Direct Care Workforce Strategies Center. Meetings of the Network build on the work of an eight-state task force that guided the publication of the "CSG Long-Term Care Policy Guide.”