{"id":155471,"date":"2026-04-02T15:38:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T15:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/155471\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T15:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T15:38:08","slug":"watch-allentown-direct-care-worker-discusses-pay-increases-in-governor-shapiros-2025-26-budget-bringing-wages-closer-to-15-an-hour-department-of-human-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/155471\/","title":{"rendered":"WATCH: Allentown Direct Care Worker Discusses Pay Increases in Governor Shapiro\u2019s 2025-26 Budget Bringing Wages Closer to $15 an Hour | Department of Human Services"},"content":{"rendered":"

Allentown, PA\u00a0\u2013Direct care workers (DCWs)\u00a0are\u00a0now\u00a0seeing an increase of $1-$5 per hour from their current hourly wage, bringing them above or closer to a $15 hourly wage because of the investments made in\u00a0Governor Josh Shapiro\u2019s 2025-26 Budget<\/a>.\u00a0Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (PA DHS) Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh\u00a0recently met with DCWs\u00a0to hear\u00a0more about\u00a0how these investments will have a positive effect on their lives.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Governor\u2019s\u00a0budget invested\u00a0$21 million\u00a0to increase wages, retroactive to January 1, 2026, for DCWs who provide in-home services to adults with physical disabilities and older Pennsylvanians in the participant-directed model through Community\u00a0HealthChoices. The investment\u00a0includes\u00a0increased\u00a0wages,\u00a0recognizes time off for sick or personal leave, and increases access to affordable insurance\u00a0for approximately\u00a08,500 workers\u00a0who are employed directly by the individual they care for and therefore cannot access employer-sponsored benefits.\u00a0Governor Shapiro\u2019s\u00a0proposed 2026-27 budget<\/a>\u00a0sustains the new investments in this critical workforce.<\/p>\n

\u201cDirect care workers give so much of themselves to ensure that other people can\u00a0live with dignity in their homes or in a setting of their choosing.\u00a0These professionals are vital to the lives of those they care for,\u00a0especially those\u00a0individuals\u00a0who may not have\u00a0other\u00a0support systems\u00a0to rely on,\u201d said\u00a0Secretary Arkoosh. \u201cThe Shapiro Administration is committed to supporting the direct care workforce, and the investments in the 2025-26 budget reflect that. With this funding,\u00a0direct care workers\u00a0are\u00a0better able to take care of themselves while also caring for others.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

DCWs are a lifeline for individuals who require\u00a0assistance\u00a0to live independently and families that may not be able to provide their loved ones with 24\/7 care. Through Medicaid, older Pennsylvanians and adults with physical disabilities\u00a0are able to get assistance to live with more independence in their own home rather than a group or facility setting,\u00a0and through the\u00a0\u201cparticipant-directed model,\u201d and\u00a0Medicaid recipients who need long-term care can\u00a0choose to hire\u00a0and manage\u00a0their own\u00a0DCWs\u00a0directly\u00a0to help with the services, supports, and daily assistance they need to live safely in their homes.<\/p>\n

Lynn Weidner is a\u00a0DCW from Allentown who recently met with\u00a0Secretary\u00a0Arkoosh\u00a0to talk about how\u00a0increased wages would make a difference in her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love taking care of people in general. The money that\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0getting in the budget is going to keep me afloat,\u201d said Weidner. \u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0going to allow me to be able to continue to pay for my health insurance. This\u00a0probably won\u2019t\u00a0offset all of it.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0still going to have to make cuts, but it will make a dent,\u00a0and it will alleviate some of the stress\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0had in the last couple of months.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more about\u00a0Governor Shapiro\u2019s 2025-26 budget investments<\/a>\u00a0and his continued commitment to strengthening Pennsylvania through the\u00a0proposed 2026-27 budget<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Allentown, PA\u00a0\u2013Direct care workers (DCWs)\u00a0are\u00a0now\u00a0seeing an increase of $1-$5 per hour from their current hourly wage, bringing them…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":47278,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-155471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155471\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}