Human services agencies face staffing crisis, delaying services for those in need
Media wages well below all other industries in the state
Our 2019 report for the Providers' Council is referenced in this Boston Globe article about the state's human services sector hiring crisis.
The low pay in the human services field is a major factor in the workforce crunch, according to a coalition of the state’s human services professional associations. Median wages are slightly more than $27,000 — which includes part-timers but not most licensed clinical staff, such as nurses — well below the $40,500 median for all other industries in the state, according to a 2019 report commissioned by the Providers’ Council, which represents 200 agencies in Massachusetts. Average pay for people who provide daily care for clients at group homes and day programs is just $15-$17 an hour.
For the past several years, the institute's Applied Research & Program Evaluation group has worked on important issues and trends in the state's human services sector.
The Fact of the Human Services Sector: Our Caring Workforce in 2018
Who Will Care? The Workforce Crisis in Human Services in 2017
Beyond Social Value: The Economic Impact of the Social Services Sector in Massachusetts in 2015
All reports were commissioned by the Providers' Council and produced with our partners at UMass Dartmouth Department of Public Policy.
Read article: Human services agencies face staffing crisis, delaying services for those in need
October 04, 2021
