Improving Jobs to Improve Care: The SEIU Healthcare NW Training Partnership

“The first decade of this century was a time of great change for Washington’s home care sector. The sector experienced substantial growth as the state continued to shift long-term care for older adults and people with disabilities from institutions to home and residential settings. Home care workers won the right to organize. Voters approved higher standards and certification requirements for home care workers. The foundation was laid for the Training Partnership, the nation’s largest training institution devoted to developing professional long-term care workers to deliver quality care and support to older adults and people with disabilities. This case study chronicles the origins of the Training Partnership. It describes the organization’s statewide system for training workers, working with employers and improving the quality of care for consumers. It also identifies strengths and challenges to the model” (p.4).

“This case study begins with an overview of home care in the United States and Washington state and describes some key features of home care. It also provides a brief history of how and why the Training Partnership was formed. After that context, the case study describes in detail the operations of the Training Partnership, including its organizational and staffing structure, training approach, customer service, financing, outcomes and future plans. It concludes with reflections on strengths and challenges of the Training Partnership, as well as implications for policy makers, training providers and others” (p.8).

(Abstractor: Author)

“While still a relatively new initiative, the early experiences, challenges and success of the Training Partnership in Washington state offer lessons and guidance for state and federal policy makers, workforce development investors and philanthropists, and job training providers about how to train and support one of our nation’s most important workforces. We identified several strengths and a few challenges to the model. Strengths: 1. Clear goals, commitment to continuous improvement and vigorous drive to improve the field 2. All aspects of the Training Partnership are embedded in the industry 3. Significant employer engagement, including sustained funding 4. A solid understanding of workers and commitment to their success 5. Planned for scale from the beginning Challenges 1. Integrating training and certification processes and continuing to improve the model 2. Serving immigrant and rural workers 3. Developing career pathways and economic advancement opportunities for home care aides 4. Evaluating impact and outcomes, including improvements in quality care” (p.6) “The Training Partnership experience offers many lessons for other states. Other states likely need to professionalize their home care workforce and develop a system that can respond to growing demand. The Training Partnership’s close working relationship with the state of Washington to implement the policy for higher training and certification standards has facilitated development and improvement of the training and support offerings. The experience of the Training Partnership and the state policies that supported the organization’s development provide an approach that other states can adapt to their own context” (p.6). (Abstractor: Author)

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2015
• Author(s): Choitz, Vickie; Helmer, Matt, and Conway, Maureen.
• Organizational Author(s): SkillUp Washington and The Aspen Institute
• Funding Source: Seattle Foundation, National Fund for Workforce Solutions
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Long Dang
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies