Paying family caregivers through Consumer-Directed services is good policy because it:

• Addresses workforce issues raised by the COVID-19 pandemic and which have not been resolved and are not likely to be resolved for many years.
• Promotes equity and access to services in underserved communities.
• Addresses workforce shortages, which are long-standing (even prior to COVID-19).
• Confronts increasing demand for home-based care. 
• Addresses gaps in meeting the needs of communities of color and English Language learners. 
• Recognizes increasing interest in home-and community-based care over institutional care through consumer direction programs and gives older adults and people with disabilities an alternative to institutionalization.  
• Keeps vulnerable children safe with parent caregivers. (This is particularly true if a child has aggression issues. Requiring others to be attendants puts the safety of the individual at risk. If the child hits the outside attendant then that is assault and a criminal offense.)
• Helps families who have no other employment options due to the demands of caring for a disabled loved one. Even with attendant care for their child, many parents are not able to work full-time jobs because they must be on-call to handle any issues that arise with behaviors, health, school, jobs.

For these reasons, I respectfully ask that it remains possible to pay family caregivers through consumer-directed services.