Input Needed: Addition of “Care Workers” in Standard Occupational Classification

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is seeking input to inform a possible revision of the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual. Comments are sought on a variety of topics, including whether OMB should consider adding “care workers” as a detailed occupation (and how the occupation should be named and described).   

By standardizing descriptions of various occupations, the SOC helps to ensure consistency and comparability of occupation-based data. Federal agencies use the SOC to publish occupational data, which allows stakeholders to analyze information about occupations — such as wage estimates, numbers of people working in the occupation, and geographic distribution — across federal agencies and programs.

The direct care workforce provides a variety of services that make it possible for millions of people with disabilities and older adults to live and fully participate in their communities. It includes people with various job titles and roles, including personal care attendants, home health aides, direct support professionals, job coaches, and more. Their services can range from helping with personal care and daily living tasks to duties that are medical in nature, such as monitoring a ventilator or ensuring prompt response to seizures. Because the support each person needs to live in the community is unique to them, and many people need multiple services, many direct care workers provide multiple services. 

The current SOC includes occupations capture some types of direct care workers, such as certified nursing assistants (31-1014), home health aides (31-1121), and personal care aides (31-1122). However, there is no occupation that specifically captures people who provide the support many older adults and people with disabilities need to participate in their communities. These workers are often known as “direct support professionals.”  

As a result, policymakers frequently do not have the data they need to make important decisions about the range of direct care workers that provide home and community-based services. 
 
More information on the potential revisions and how to submit comments is available in the Federal Register notice.