Direct Care Alliance Gets a Seat at President Obama’s Table

“This is not an end but a beginning,” said Kareem Dale, a member of President-elect Obama’s transition team, to DCA Executive Director Leonila Vega, DCA board member Vera Salter, and the other members of a small group he assembled yesterday in Washington, D.C. Dale invited the DCA and seven other advocacy organizations, most representing people with disabilities, to one of the final meetings of the transition team. Once Obama is in the White House, that relationship will be continued by a newly created Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs department. The new department will be headed up by Valerie Jarrett, a close friend and advisor of the President-elect. Each of the groups was asked to present a short list of policy concerns. In her presentation, Vega called on the new administration to include direct care workers in its health care and economic recovery initiatives and to create more direct care jobs. She discussed the need for more home and community based jobs; for family-sustaining, middle-class jobs that ensure quality direct care service; and for more career advancement opportunities for direct care workers. Salter called for better wages, including the Fair Labor Standards Act fix laid out in the DCA’s letter to President-elect Obama(pdf). Dale told the groups they now had “a seat at the table,” adding “we’ll be in touch.” However, he warned them not to rely on this relationship alone to make the changes they want, urging them to find champions for their causes in the Senate, the House, and relevant government agencies. Not that the DCA needed any urging. In fact, while Vega and Salter met with Dale, National Advocacy Director Roy Gedat was making one of his frequent visits to Capitol Hill, accompanied by direct care workers from Pennsylvania. DCA Direct Care Worker Specialist Brenda Nachtway has been talking to a lot of legislators too. But having the new administration’s ear will give the DCA’s advocacy efforts a boost. For one thing, Salter points out, the Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs department should be able to help the DCA connect with people from different parts of the government. “For instance, if we want someone from the Department of Labor to work with the Department of Health and Human Services, that would be a good thing to bring to them.” Vega invites other groups and individuals who care about direct care worker issues to help the DCA make its case by joining the National Direct Care Partnership. “We want to take the opportunity of having a seat at the table to ensure that the needs of direct care workers are finally addressed,” she says. “But we can’t do it alone, so we hope you’ll join us. “Together we can!” Elise Nakhnikian Communications Director Direct Care Alliance from Direct Care Alliance Blog