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Franchise operators employ around 7,000 home care aides, most of whom are over 55 years old. “We are considering adding another 1,000 to 1,500 caregivers through this program,” said Namrata Yocom-Jan, its chairman.
In eastern Tennessee, where Ray Bales runs two Seniors Helping Seniors franchises, he said 11 people applied within a week of advertising the $200 bonus on Facebook. It hopes to attract 30 to 40 new workers. (No one objected to funding the company’s philanthropy with $50 from potential bonuses, he said.)
However, the Home Care Association may not be able to retain bonuses for newcomers working in a notoriously high turnover area, which was more than 80 percent in 2018. Since then, turnover has dropped; still, two-thirds of agency employees leave each year.
Some assistants enjoy higher wages in retail, fast food and other industries. Others have switched to independent work, avoiding middlemen who pocket at least half of what customers pay.
Wendy Gullickson, a licensed practicing nurse in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, spent only a few months as a $13 hourly agency worker before discovering she could earn $25 as a private assistant—less than local agencies’ pay. (Cost of home care averaging $23 to $24 an hour nationally last year, but $29 to $30 in Massachusetts.)
Therefore, it is no secret for advocates that the key to attracting new helpers to home care. “What they need is competitive pay because they can earn the same or more with full-time hours in other industries,” said Robert Espinoza, PHI’s vice president of policy.
In 2018, the nation’s estimated 2.8 million home care aides, most of whom are women of color and nearly a third are immigrants, earned an average of $12 an hour and $17,200 a year. Few benefits received; more than half relied on food stamps, Medicaid or other public assistance.
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