Direct Care Workforce Strategies Center
The Direct Care Workforce Strategies Center, funded by the Administration for Community Living, supports the nation’s direct care workforce by providing critical resources, tools, and training.
Many people with disabilities and older adults cannot get the services they need to live in the community because there are not enough direct care professionals. The Direct Care Workforce Strategies Center provides resources, technical assistance, and training to state systems, providers, and stakeholders to improve workforce recruitment, training, and retention.
The DCW Strategies Center provides training and technical assistance (TA) to strengthen state capacity and drive systems change in the recruitment, training, and retention of the direct care workforce. This TA is designed for state agencies, employers, educational institutions, and program administrators working to improve workforce outcomes.
New: Rapid response on-demand technical assistance
Need timely support on a direct care workforce challege in yoru home and community-based services (HCBS) programs? The DCW Strategies Center now offers expedited TA for states not currently participating in the 2025-2026 State Advancement Lab (SAL) or Peer Learning Collaborative (PLC). This flexible option provides focused, short-term support—up to 20 hours over 45 days or less—to help yor state address specific, time-sensitive HCBS workforce issues.
Each engagement connects a state agency with national experts to help answer specific, concrete questions or address a clearly defined challenge related to recruiting, training, supporting, and retaining the HCBS direct care workforce. The emphasis is on practical help and clear next steps, not long reports.
Scope of rapid response on-demand TA
• Approximately 10–20 hours of support
• 30–45 days from start to finish
• Focused on one main question, challenge, or issue
• Small, targeted final product (not a long report)
Who can participate?
• Any state or territory not currently in one of the Strategies Center’s active TA programs
• Can include one agency (e.g., Medicaid, Workforce, Aging, Higher Education) or a small team across agencies
• A good fit for states that are just getting started, testing ideas, or figuring out if they are ready for deeper engagement with the Strategies Center in the future
What states receive
• Tailored support from experts on your chosen topic
• Access to national partners and subject matter experts with experience in workforce, Medicaid, and aging/disability services
• A concrete final product such as:
• Informational Brief + Resource List
• Summary of promising practices and innovative state models
• Memo outlining strategic policy and programmatic options
• Blueprint of actionable next steps for a state to continue to tackle the direct care workforce crisis
To apply: complete this short questionnaire.
Technical assistance
Direct Care Workforce State Innovation Lab (SAL)
The signature TA offering of the Strategies Center, the State Advancement Lab provides selected states up to 250 hours of tailored support from national experts and a dedicated TA coach, who help state agencies work together to identify challenges, find shared solutions, and strengthen how they recruit, train, support, and retain the direct care workforce.
In addition to targeted TA, states attend monthly peer learning collaborative meetings that bring together states working on similar milestones to share ideas, troubleshoot challenges, and learn from one another’s experiences strengthening the direct care workforce. Participants gain practical tools and connections as they hear from experts centered around three core themes:
- Joining the Workforce
- Well-Being at Work
- Career Progression
Learn more about the State Advancement Lab and current and former state participants.
Please sign up below to receive updates, and check back regularly as we continue to create and share resources from the federal government, highlight state and local model policies and best practices that can be replicated or adapted, and share training and technical assistance materials.
Funding for the Direct Care Workforce Strategies Center
NCOA was awarded a 5-year grant from ACL to establish the Direct Care Workforce Strategies Center to strengthen the care economy. This initiative will provide technical assistance to states and service providers, and facilitate collaboration with stakeholders to improve recruitment, retention, training, and professional development of direct care workers.
The content and views expressed herein are those of NCOA and do not necessarily represent the views of, nor should be attributed to, ACL.
How to contact NCOA's direct care workforce team
General inquiries can be directed to directcareworkforce@ncoa.org.
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About the Center for Economic Well-Being
The Center for Economic Well-Being helps organizations enroll adults 65+ and younger adults with disabilities with limited means into the benefits programs they are eligible for so they can remain healthy and improve the quality of their lives. Learn more about our work, including the training and technical assistance NCOA provides.