The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Community Living (ACL), announced several new initiatives and resources from ACL’s Direct Care Workforce (DCW) Strategies Center to address the dire shortage of professionals who provide the services many older adults and people with disabilities need to live in the community.

These include two technical assistance opportunities to help states strengthen their systems for recruiting, retaining, and developing direct care workers; a national hub to connect states, stakeholders and communities to best practices and other resources related to the direct care workforce; and a webinar series for states and stakeholders focused on a range of direct care workforce topics. These initiatives will help sustain the impact of the $37 billion in American Rescue Plan funding invested to date by states in home and community-based services, and support the comprehensive set of actions and investments included in the President’s executive order to improve care.

Along with technical assistance to state-level partners, the initiative includes the official launch of the DCW Strategies Center website. The website serves as the national hub for resources including information about best practices, promising strategies, upcoming events, webinars and technical assistance opportunities, and more to support states, stakeholders and communities in strengthening and expanding their local direct care workforce. The library features resources from federal agencies, as well as resources published by partners from all levels of government, research and advocacy organizations, non-profits and industry, and other stakeholders.