Training programs for assisted living, nursing home workers in Wisconsin could run out of money | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Cleo Krejci

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Two workforce development programs aiming to curb shortages of caregivers in Wisconsin assisted living, and nursing home facilities could end this summer without continued funding.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services launched WisCaregiver Careers in 2018, providing free training for people to become certified nurse aides in nursing homes. It expanded that program in summer 2023 to create an online training course for non-CNA caregivers to become certified direct care professionals who work in home and community-based settings, like assisted living facilities.

As of June, about 6,000 people have become CNAs and another 1,100 have become CDCPs through the WisCaregiver Careers and CDCP programs. Thousands more have registered for the free programs but have not completed the training.

The long-term care industry has struggled to recruit and maintain direct care workers since before COVID-19 made the hiring challenge worse. Last year, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation documented serious harms to older adults and people with disabilities as the result of issues like understaffing and undertraining of workers in high-needs assisted living facilities.

In a statement, a DHS spokesperson said “for all practical purposes” the WisCaregiver Careers and CDCP programs will end when their funding runs out June 30 without additional dollars.

Gov. Tony Evers proposed about $8.68 million in the 2025-27 budget for those programs, which would keep them running through June 2027.

Evers’ proposed budget is based on estimates that 1,250 more people would become CNAs through WisCaregiver Careers and 2,500 would complete the CDCP program. That funding request needs support from state lawmakers to move forward.

As of May 2024 federal data, hourly pay for CNAs in Wisconsin ranges between $17.81 and $23.18. For non-CNA personal care assistants, it ranges from $11.87 to $18.91 an hour.