ICI and Executive Office of Elder Affairs partner to offer community-based home care training online

The Institute for Community Inclusion has been working with the Executive Office of Elder Affairs to expand the workforce of community-based home care workers in Massachusetts. This year, we launched the online Personal and Home Care Aide State Training (PHCAST), a free, virtual, self-paced training for anyone interested in becoming a community-based home care worker in Massachusetts. Over one thousand individuals have registered for the course since February 2021.

Home care aides are an integral part of the in-home care team. They provide services that support older adults and persons with disabilities to live and thrive in their homes and communities. Home care aides promote self-determination and support older adults and persons with disabilities to make decisions about their care and lifestyle.

PHCAST is a self-paced, video-based, 11-module online training adapted from Commonwealth Medicine’s in-person training. Learners can complete each module from their home computer or smartphone. The modules cover the roles and responsibilities of a home care aide, including skills like active listening, nutrition planning, housekeeping, working with consumers, and more.

Do you work with job seekers in Massachusetts? Please share our training with your networks! Our PHCAST Communications and Outreach Toolkit includes sample social media messages to share with your followers, printable flyers to display in your offices, and sample blog/newsletter language to send to your listservs about the Personal and Home Care Aide State Training.