April 5, 2022
One of the most closely watched proposals in New York state budget negotiations is aimed at addressing low wages for home health aides as providers cope with a worsening staffing crisis. Struggling to recruit employees due to wages typically at the upstate minimum wage — $13.20 per hour — providers say they have been unable to match the pay being offered at most fast-food restaurants and warehouses for big-box department stores. “We find that people like working in home care,” said Bryan O’Malley, director of the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Association of New York State. “They just can’t afford to.” Read the full article here.