It might be the beginning of a new year and a new legislative session, but The Caring Force still has the same mission: empowering those who care about the human services sector to advance an agenda that creates an environment in Massachusetts that protects our most vulnerable neighbors and creates a stronger economy with the pay, recognition and respect our workers deserve.
Together, we can help make our goal a reality help by advocating for the Providers’ Council’s 2017-2018 Legislative Agenda, which includes three pro-workforce bills:
- An act relative to access to health insurance for human service providers and employees, which would allow providers to access the state’s Group Insurance Commission (GIC) in an effort to increase options for buying health insurance products and controlling insurance costs.
- An act establishing a loan repayment program for direct care human service workers that would create an education loan repayment program for direct care workers who work a minimum of 35 hours per week, earn less than $45,000 per year and have worked in the sector for 12 consecutive months.
- An act relative to fair pay for comparable work, which would set a schedule to fully eliminate the pay disparity between state workers and those employed by private, community-based human service nonprofits who are doing similar work.
To find the complete version of the 2017-2018 Legislative Agenda click here.
We have quite a bit to accomplish this session, but with all of your help I’m sure we can make a difference!
Later this month the Governor will release his budget proposal for FY ’18 to begin the annual budget process. Throughout budget season, The Caring Force will have opportunities to contact your state legislators and share your story to advocate for a stronger human service sector. And advocating at our State House Rally will be more important than ever this year, so be sure to stay tuned for details on how you can get involved.
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