Mass. PCA Referral Directory Survey Highlights

Employer survey  819 survey invitations sent by on March 24, 2010  153 individuals completed the survey by April 13 (18 percent response rate)

Referral source  44 percent from an Independent Living Center  16.6 percent from a friend  15.3 percent from The Bridge Newsletter  14.6 percent from a brochure or poster  6.6 percent from the Internet  2.9 percent other

Access  90.7 percent use a home computer  3.9 percent use a computer at their library or community center  1.9 percent use “other” computer. ▬ 13.2 percent have someone – case management agency, friend or family member – help them conduct the search

Directory use  79 percent have searched the Directory within the last six months  74 percent of those who searched the Directory found individuals who looked suitable to work for them

Hiring rates  Nearly 36 percent of all respondents; and  45 percent of those who have searched the Directory within the past 6-months have hired a PCA they found in the Directory

Satisfaction rates  61 percent rated the Directory satisfactory or above  7 percent rated the Directory as excellent  24 percent were very satisfied  30 percent were satisfied  19 percent were somewhat satisfied  17 percent of respondents were not satisfied

Comments  Those not satisfied complained PCA candidates are either under-qualified or unresponsive to phone calls  Several who were satisfied noted the ease of using the directory to find qualified workers  “It is a wonderful way to find out about availability and other pieces of information about a potential employee without having to advertise or search every other way, like colleges, bulletin boards, word of mouth, friends, church, other PCAs, etc.”

Satisfaction rates with MassHealth  Overall rating of 76 percent satisfied or above  Of these, 15 percent rated the program as excellent  31 percent were very satisfied  30 percent were satisfied  13 percent were somewhat satisfied  9 percent of respondents were not satisfied

Comments “Without this Program, our daughter would not be able to be as independent as she is. It would be terrible if her hours were decreased. If not for the directory, I would never have found the person I now have working. For once, I have hope of this living situation working for my daughter. She has lived independently for 10 yrs. Finally we are having the coverage we need for her. This has taken a lot of work but it has been worth it since my husband and I are getting older.”

General Comments MassHealth number:  10 respondents complained about having to enter their MassHealth number each time they log in ▬ "I rarely use the directory because I have to put in my MassHealth number every time I use it. It’s not consumer friendly."

General Comments Employee Screening:  More than a dozen respondents asked for better background screening ▬ “Would it be possible for Rewarding Work to do the CORI search?” ▬ “Just wish state would do background checks. They can be done for as little as $20. My HUD housing promptly weeds out names of those no longer interested in taking a position.” ▬ “I would like to do a criminal background check, but I don't know how.”

General Comments Post or Advertise Positions:  Some respondents wish to post positions on the website ▬ “I would like to POST my position so that applicants can contact me. It has been very time consuming to contact everyone, leave messages, etc.”

General Comments Training:  Some people want required training for PCAs, and some want to train workers themselves ▬ “One part of the training should be for the PCA to learn or know how to ‘stand-pivot’” ▬ “You should hire an experienced PCA as a trainer and have classes” ▬ “Right to hire a PCA who is untrained should remain intact.”

General Comments Outreach:  Many respondents commented that the public must know about the Referral Directory ▬ “My wishes are that the PCA referral Program can continue to attract qualified PCAs and continue to expand the number of available PCAs throughout the Commonwealth. This is a vital service!”

Worker survey  1,069 survey invitations sent by on April 6, 2010  115 individuals completed the survey by April 26 (11 percent response rate)

Referral Source  24 percent of respondents found out about the Directory through the Internet  22 percent from the PCA Union  Nearly 20 percent from a friend/word of mouth  Almost 12 percent through an Independent Living Center  22 percent found out about the Directory through a variety of marketing and outreach efforts, including brochures, posters, post card mailings, televised public service announcements and Craig’s list ads

Interviewing and Hiring Results  43 percent of respondents have been contacted within the last six months  16.5 percent of respondents have been hired as a PCA as a result of registering with the Directory

Satisfaction rates  44 percent of respondents rated the Directory satisfactory or above  12 percent rated the Directory as excellent  10 percent were very satisfied  22 percent were satisfied  27 percent were somewhat satisfied  26 percent were not satisfied

Comments  Generally, those who were not satisfied complained that the Directory has not produced job results ▬ Suggestions include adding job postings to the site: “If you could post the jobs that were available, maybe it could help us find jobs. And it would make it easier for people to find us.”

General comments Posting jobs to the site:  Several respondents said actual job postings would make the site more effective ▬ “If you could post the jobs that were available, maybe it could help us find jobs. And it would make it easier for people to find us.”

General comments Advertise directory more widely: “More advertisement of the registration for PCAs should be listed and posted. Many people who are looking for a PCA are unaware of Mass PCA Referral Directory.”

General comments Request for training/certification : “Could you supply access to certification programs... or sponsor one yourself? Many of the jobs in Massachusetts, particularly the ones through an Agency, require that one be certified. The only program appears to be through Red Cross, but costs quite a bit, ie. nearly a thousand dollars.”

General comments Appreciation: “I think you are doing such a fabulous service to both ends of this PCA program for employers and employees…great job. I am interested in continuing my pursuit of employment through this service.” “It was very helpful in getting a job. Thank you.”

PCM agency survey  120 survey invitations were sent by to 31 PCM and affiliated agencies on April 27  28 individuals out of 120 (23 percent) completed the survey by May 12, 2010  Agency response rate was 18 out of 31 – or 58 percent

Directory Use  71 percent of respondents report using the Directory within the last six months to teach PCA consumers how to find PCAs  82 percent reported using the Directory to search for PCAs for consumers who do not have computers.

Training  75 percent of respondents feel they have had sufficient training in using the PCA Directory  25 percent feel the training was insufficient ▬ Of those, 50 percent would like additional training on using the Advanced search feature ▬ 37.5 percent would like to learn more about the Sort feature ▬ 87.5 percent requested group demonstration training ▬ 37.5 percent requested training via web/phone ▬ 12.5 percent prefer individual instruction.

Satisfaction rate  14 percent said Mass. PCA Referral Directory is excellent  37 percent rated it very satisfactory  37 percent rated it satisfactory  11 percent rated it somewhat satisfactory

General comments More training:  Several respondents said more training would be helpful ▬ “I am trained, but others are not and the advanced feature can be difficult to maneuver if you're not familiar with computers.”  Another suggested an online tutorial: “Walk- thru online tutorial, especially advanced search option.”

General comments Search criteria suggestions : “With the rise of autism, and challenging behaviors that follow it, it might be helpful to include an option for certain key diagnoses that PCA's are interested to work with. (Alzheimer’s, autism, HIV/AIDS, etc)”

General comments Ways to increase use among PCM agency staffers  “Prepare a letter explaining the process of getting signed up and using the web site and send it to all agencies. Send this letter to all our consumers.”  “Include a notice with their pay stubs to let them know it exists.”

General comments More ways to increase use among PCM agency staffers :  “Most PCM staff are already burdened with MassHealth paperwork necessary for consumers to apply for the PCA program. MassHealth could reimburse a PCM to have a dedicated staff member work specifically with consumers and the directory. Otherwise this activity falls onto the back burner.”  “Site visits to PCA agencies.”

General comments Outreach : “This needs to be more widely marketed to the human service agencies and professionals that need to know about it, as well as to the consumers that need the info.”