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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Linda L. Delp, MPH, Center for Labor Research and Education, UCLA, Box 951478, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1478, 310 794-5976, ldelp@ucla.edu
California home care services for the elderly, blind and disabled are provided through a unique relationship between the recipients of care (consumers), the workers, and the responsible government administrative agency. Through this structure, known as the independent provider or consumer-directed model, consumers hire and direct the daily work of their provider. This contrasts with the agency model of care in which a private or non-profit agency hires and directs the workers. This paper presents a historical perspective of the origin of the independent provider model of care based on interviews with more than 20 key actors including worker, consumer, union and government agency representatives. It discusses the delicate and challenging debates among union and consumer representatives which ultimately led to the development of a coalition with two goals: to ensure consumers the right to hire and fire their own providers, and to give workers the right to organize into unions. The paper poses the challenges to establishment of a worker health and safety program inherent in the independent provider model and the possibilities of policy change through labor/consumer coalitions.
Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to
Keywords: Occupational Health, Home Care
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.