The Heldrich Center will be evaluating its career training program aimed at expanding the Certified Home Health Aide (CHHA) workforce in New Jersey. The program will provide training to become a CHHA, a 12-week on-the-job mentoring period, and specialized training in dementia care and mental health first aid.

In partnership with the New Jersey Department of Human Services through the Money Follows the Person Capacity Building Initiative, the Heldrich Center will field two surveys of the CHHA workforce and home health aide agencies in New Jersey. Planned for the winter and spring of 2025, the workforce survey will collect primary quantitative data about the recruitment, retention, and job satisfaction of the workforce, while the agency survey will measure workforce challenges and staffing practices that agencies face in hiring and retaining workers. This research effort will assist the New Jersey Department of Human Services in identifying strategies that might reduce barriers to entry and improve retention of CHHAs in New Jersey.