Wage increases should move workers forward, but for many in the direct care workforce, they can instead trigger sudden losses in public benefits, leaving them financially worse off. This phenomenon, known as the benefits cliff, poses a serious challenge to recruitment, retention, and advancement in long-term care.

In this webinar, PositiveAge Executive Director Betsy Archer and Randi Hamill, MSW, Director of Workforce Development Initiatives for LeadingAge Ohio will share findings from a groundbreaking study examining how benefits cliffs affect direct care workers and what these results reveal about broader workforce and policy implications. You will gain insight into the financial realities facing direct care workers, learn how benefits cliffs can undermine wage growth, and explore strategies and policy approaches that can help create a more stable and sustainable care workforce.

Following this session, you will be able to:

• Define the concept of a benefits cliff and explain how it impacts the financial stability of direct care workers.
• Interpret key findings from the recent study conducted by LeadingAge Virginia, PositiveAge, a LeadingAge Virginia Foundation, and PHI, including examples of how small wage increases can result in disproportionate losses of public benefits.
• Analyze the broader implications of benefits cliffs on workforce recruitment, retention, and advancement within aging services.
• Identify potential strategies and policy approaches to mitigate the efforts of benefits cliffs and support a more stable direct care workforce.

Free to members and nonmembers!