MD Regional Direct Services Collaborative Update
January 8, 2026
Hello again — we know it’s been a while since you’ve heard from us! Like many other small nonprofits, we’ve been busy trying to obtain funding, managing grants, and keeping up with what’s happening in the Maryland region with regard to direct care.
As we move forward in 2026, we ask that if you have something you would like us to share with our email list, please send it to Executive Director Meg LaPorte so she can be sure to include it the next update.
The Collaborative continues to manage its grant from the Maryland Department of Labor’s Direct Care Workforce Innovation Program. Now in its second year, the grant has educated 17 individuals to become CNAs via an innovative three-pronged approach to educating:
- The Beacon Institute’s hybrid CNA training program;
- Training with CNA Simulations, a virtual platform that enables CNA students to prepare for the CNA skills exam and for real-world care with interactive, self-paced HHA and CNA skills scenarios; and
- A Workers’ Rights Training workshop, from the Public Justice Center, that educates students about their rights as workers and empowers them with knowledge about how to advocate for themselves.
Please stay tuned and watch for more emails from us throughout the year. Below you will find two events that we think are highly relevant to your work:
- An upcoming webinar, in collaboration with Art Against Ageism, that examines the new documentary, “No Country for Old People,” and its relationship to ageism, ableism, and direct care in aging services.
- A survey from Johns Hopkins University to learn more about direct care work in Maryland.