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Profile of Harris County Elders
 Risk Factors and Long Term Care
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Reports on Issues Impacting Older Adults
 
Reports
House Committee on Human Services- Texas House of Representatives Interim Report 2008 
Aging Agenda for Houston-Harris County: Moving Toward an Elder Friendly Future 
This document condenses the work of eight work groups (domains) brought together by the Houston Department of Health and Human Services to grapple with the issues that are of concern to the older adults of the nation's fourth largest city. Together these participants formed a formidable alliance for the health and well-being of Houston's seniors. (August 2008)
The Causes, Consequences, and Future of Senior Hunger in America 
This Meals On Wheels Association of America Foundation (MOWAAF)-sponsored study,  which was underwritten by the Harrah's Foundation, was officially released at a hearing of the U. S. Special Committee on Aging in Washington, DC, on March 5, 2008. This research study is groundbreaking because it was the most comprehensive national research study to look exclusively at senior hunger in the United States. (March 2008)
From Isolation to Integration: Recommendations to Improve Quality in Long-Term Care 
With this report, the National Commission for Quality Long-Term Care calls for a national discussion about how we can create a new and better long-term care system. The Commission also urges the next President of the United States to provide the leadership necessary to launch a multifaceted transformation of the long-term care system so that it will be able to serve consumers for decades to come. This report emphasis the need for national solutions to the long-term care crisis so that all Americans, no matter where they live, can benefit from the system's reform. (December 2007)
Long-Term Services and Supports: The Future Role and Challenges for Medicaid 
This report draws from a body of health services research to lay out seven major policy challenges facing the Medicaid program today and identifies issues facing long-term care going forward. By gathering evidence to address key policy issues, such as integrating services, benefit design, quality monitoring and financing, it is the hope that this report will help to lay the foundation for the current and ongoing policy debate regarding Medicaid's future role as a provider of long-term care services and supports for low-income elderly and disabled Americans. (September 2007)
Growing Older in America: The Health & Retirement Study 
This publication is about one major resource-the Health and Retirement Study (HRS)-designed to inform the national retirement discussion as the population so dramatically ages. Since its launch in 1992, the HRS has painted a detailed portrait of America's older adults, helping us learn about this growing population's physical and mental health, insurance coverage, financial situations, family support systems, work status, and retirement planning. Through its unique and in-depth interviews with a nationally representative sample of adults over the age of 50, the HRS provides an invaluable, growing body of multidisciplinary data to help address the challenges and opportunities of aging. (March 2007)
 
The Direct Care Workforce
Direct-Care Jobs and Long-Term Care: Untapped Engine for Job Creation and Economic Growth 
State Chart Book on Wages for Personal and Home Care Aides, 1999-2006 
The Chart Book, prepared by PHI, provides a first-of-its-kind look at wages and wage trends for Personal and Home Care Aides (PHCA). Prepared as a resource guide on wages for advocates and policymakers concerned with the direct-care workforce, the data underscore the problem of low and declining real wages for PHCA's, factors which contribute to workforce instability and near-poverty incomes for this high-demand workforce. (July 2008)
Building on Success: Lessons Learned from the Federal Background Check Pilot Program for Long-Term Care Workers 
The results of a seven-state pilot program to conduct background checks on long-term care workers created by U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) and authorized under the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act. (July 30, 2008)
Stakeholder Recommendations to Improve Recruitement, Retention, and the Perceived Status of Paraprofessional Direct Service Workers in Texas 
This report is a product of the Texas Direct Service Workforce (DSW) Initiative. The report includes background information about the DSW, methods used to collect and analyze stakeholder input and 14 overarching recommendations stakeholders made to improve workforce turnover and the perceived status of the paraprofessional DSW in Texas. (June 2008)
Caring for America's Aging Population: A Profile of the Direct Care Workforce 
September 2007
Senate Bill 95: Evaluation of Personal Attendant Training Programs 

This legislative report discusses changes made to section 5 of Senate Bill 95 by the Texas Department of Human Services. The document analysis the current system as it relates to personal attendants and provides recommendations for improvement in the training, recruitment and retention of these direct care workers. (March 2001)