Brandon Kingsmore discusses how the Governor’s proposed $21 million investment would help Pennsylvanians like him.
Allentown, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services recently met with self-advocates and their direct care workers (DCWs) to discuss the Shapiro Administration’s commitment to the direct care workforce and hear how proposed investments in Governor Josh Shapiro’s 2025-26 proposed budget would benefit the thousands of direct care workers who devote their lives to helping others.
Direct care workforce shortages are one of the biggest challenges facing Pennsylvania. That’s why the Governor’s budget proposal makes strategic investments to attract, retain and sustain a skilled workforce by raising wages.
The proposed budget makes a common-sense investment of $21 million to increase direct care worker wages for those who provide services to adults with physical disabilities and older Pennsylvanians in the participant-directed model through Community HealthChoices. The investment includes a wage increase, recognizes the need to support paid time off for sick or personal leave, and increases access to affordable insurance for approximately 8,500 workers who are employed directly by the individual they care for as opposed to working through an agency.
DCWs are a lifeline for individuals who require assistance to live independently and for families that may not be able to provide their loved ones with 24/7 care. Through Medicaid, older Pennsylvanians and adults with physical disabilities can choose how and where services are provided, known as the “participant-directed model,” and many choose to hire DCWs to help with the services, supports, and daily assistance they need to live safely in their homes.
“Direct care workers spend their lives working in service to others, but we know that especially when workers are employed directly by the individuals they are caring for, wages can be low and lead to turnover in this workforce that provides care for the most vulnerable Pennsylvanians, like people with disabilities and older adults,” said DHS Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh. “The Shapiro Administration is committed to supporting this workforce and ensuring we have enough trained workers in the industries that will both fuel our growth, support career pathways and opportunities for advancement in home care, and help vulnerable Pennsylvanians get the care they need when they need it, where they want it.”
“It’s important for me to have home health care because it gives me the opportunity to live the life I want to live, in the community, doing things I want to do. My homecare worker gets me dressed, she helps me in the bathroom, she basically does everything. Without her, I wouldn’t be able to live. If I can handle my own care, I can tell my caregiver what I want to do, when I want to do it, that’s freedom,” said Brandon Kingsmore, a self-advocate who employs a DCW in the participant-directed model. “Governor Shapiro’s $21 million dollars would open up doors for people like me and caregivers to actually be able to take care of themselves, maybe get time off, maybe get the money she needs to afford to live. This money, to me, is everything, because without it we’re not going to get the care that we need.”
WATCH: Brandon discusses the importance of the work his DCW does and how the proposed investments would help him:
Learn more about Governor Shapiro’s workforce investments in his 2025-26 budget proposal.