AUGUSTA — The Maine Center for Economic Policy is set to host a webinar on the report Closing the Gap: Maine’s Direct Care Shortage and Solutions to Fix It, at noon Wednesday, June 26.

Thousands of older adults, people with disabilities, and individuals with behavioral health challenges do not receive the personal care and support services they qualify for through state and federal programs. To secure the health of Maine residents and our economic stability, bold solutions to the critical problems in the direct care system are needed, according to a news release from Karin Leuthy with the Maine Center for Economic Policy.

The webinar aims to estimate Maine’s “care gap” — the disparity between the care needed and available. “Closing the Gap” builds on MECEP’s previous report on direct care to highlight how low pay and poor benefits lead to high poverty, turnover, and burnout among direct care workers.

By quantifying the current care gap, what it will take to address it, and the costs of inaction, this report brings these issues into greater focus and identifies solutions.

For the executive summary and full report, visit mecep.org.

Webinar participants will hear from report author Arthur Phillips from MECEP; Jess Maurer from the Maine Council on Aging; Brenda Gallant and Nicole Marchesi from the Maine Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program; and members of the Direct Care and Support Professional Advisory Council.

To register, visit mecep.org/events.

Check out other upcoming area events!