Evaluating the Impact of Training for IHSS Workers

Purpose

This trial investigates whether high-quality training for consumer-directed home health workers impacts health outcomes for care consumers and employment outcomes for care workers. The investigators are conducting this study in the context of the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, a consumer-directed, Medicaid-funded home care program in California serving elderly and disabled Medicaid recipients. The investigators will partner with the Center for Caregiver Advancement (CCA), a training provider based in California, to conduct a randomized evaluation of the impact of training for IHSS workers on labor and health care outcomes. The evaluation will enroll IHSS workers in San Bernardino County, where CCA will be expanding its program. Participants will be randomized to either a group that receives CCA's training or a control group that does not receive training. Participants randomized to the training group will complete a 30 hour online course that teaches fundamental caregiving skills. Training includes personal care, infection control, nutrition and body mechanics, medication adherence, and home safety. Researchers will compare outcomes between IHSS providers in the two groups and between IHSS consumers who receive care from the IHSS providers in the two groups to see if training impacts health, health care, and labor market outcomes.