2026 Direct Care Workforce Survey

Due date: April 30, 2026

Introduction
The 2023-2025 biennial budget provided $146 million in SFY 2024-2025, and the 2025-2027 biennial budget provided $146 million in SFY 2025-2026 for Direct Care Workforce Funding Initiative payments.

Purpose of Survey
To ensure the Direct Care Workforce Funding is used as the Wisconsin legislature intended, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is requiring all providers receiving Direct Care Workforce Funding to complete the following survey questions. The information collected from the survey will help inform future discussions regarding direct care workforce initiatives.

Due Date: April 30, 2026
Providers must complete the survey according to the due date to indicate how the funds are being used and determine the effectiveness of the program. Information about future surveys will be updated as it becomes available on the Direct Care Workforce Funding Initiative FAQs webpage. Providers should complete this survey based on Direct Care Workforce payments received since June 2025. These payments include:

2024 Payment 2 distributed in June 2025
2025 Payment 1 distributed in December 2025
Redistribution payments should not be included

Definition of Direct Care Worker
For the purposes of the Direct Care Workforce Funding Initiative, a direct care worker is defined as an employee who contracts with, or is an employee of, an entity that contracts with an MCO to provide:

Adult day care services
Daily living skills training
Habilitation services
Residential care (adult family homes of 1–2 beds, adult family homes of 3–4 beds, community-based residential facilities, residential care apartment complexes)
Respite care services provided outside of a nursing home
Supportive home care
Supported employment services

And who provides one or more of the following services through direct interaction with members:

Assisting with activities of daily living or instrumental activities of daily living
Administering a member’s medications
Providing personal care or treatments for a member
Conducting activity programming for a member
Providing services such as food service, housekeeping, transportation, individual or group supported employment, prevocational employment, or vocational futures planning to the member

Staff not in the definition of direct care worker include, but are not limited to:

Licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, nurse practitioners
Nursing home staff and personal care agency staff
- Personal care agency staff are eligible starting with the 2024 payment 1.
Staff in marketing, sales, reception, finance, or maintenance and plant operations
Staff who work exclusively in food service, transportation, and housekeeping and do not have direct contact with members