The University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute released its latest report on the human services workforce crisis on Wednesday — Essential or Not? The Critical Need for Human Services Workers — which was presented at a forum hosted by the Providers’ Council at the Verve Hotel in Natick, following the Council’s 48th Annual Membership and Business Meeting.
According to the report, between 2016 and 2020 employment at human services nonprofits declined 10% while the number of establishments providing human services increased by 11%, emphasizing the difficulty providers have had filling open positions while responding to increased community need.
In addition, the report determined that an estimated 30,000 client-facing positions are vacant in Massachusetts, more than 1 in 6 human services workers are classified as low-income (defined as earning less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level) and the median income of human services workers is just $34,273 – $15,000 less than the median income for the state overall.
To read the full report, which was commissioned by The Human Services Providers Charitable Foundation, Inc., click here.
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