The LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston has been selected to evaluate the three-year Gateway-In Project, a workforce training initiative designed by LeadingAge California. 

The Golden State has the largest number of older adults in the country, and it is projected to need an additional 275,000 direct care workers by 2026 to meet their needs, LeadingAge California said. More than 50% of the state’s certified nursing assistants work in long-term care facilities serving older adults, according to the organization.

“Older adult care facilities and home- and community-based settings are facing severe workforce shortages,” LeadingAge California President and CEO Jeannee Parker Martin said in a statement. “The Gateway-In Project will begin to change that story by cultivating the next generation of CNAs and HHAs [home health aides] as well as supporting those already in the field.” 

With help from a $25 million grant from the California Health and Human Services Department, the initiative is meant to help expand the association’s efforts to bolster the long-term care workforce pipeline via CNA and HHA training and development. The program offers training and support to those entering or already working in the field of long-term services and supports.

Project participants must be at least 16 years of age, have valid identification and legal work status, and be physically able to perform caregiving tasks. The free program covers full tuition fees for education and training; provides wraparound supports such as childcare, transportation, food and related training costs; helps with job placement; and offers retention bonuses to graduates who are employed for one, six and 12 months after graduation.

The LTSS Center’s evaluation began July 1 and will run through June 30, 2025. Researchers will evaluate:

  • Program interest, effects and career development.
  • Program success.
  • Students’ views of working with older adults in HCBS serving older adults.

Researchers will use online surveys and one-on-one interviews with current and former project students as well as surveys and interviews with a comparison group of students who completed a CNA/HHA training program but are not part of the project. The research team also will interview 20 students who dropped out of the project, to find out their reasons. 

“Researchers will examine students’ perceptions of the training, the challenges they encountered, the reasons they dropped out, and the support that might have helped them complete the program,” according to the LTSS Center.