Our In-home Services

AIRES has an excellent reputation as one of the best providers of group home services. But did you know that we also provide vital in-home services as well? This service is critical to keeping people in their home. People who might otherwise have to go to a group home, nursing home or assisted living center can now stay in their own home due to our staff. In-home services are just a fraction of the cost of a residential placement and allow people to remain as independent as possible, in a familiar setting. We provide these services to people with a variety of disabilities and the elderly.

What are in-home services? In-home services, also refereed to as Home & Community Based Services  (HCBS), is when an AIRES staff goes to the home of an individual and provides assistance. AIRES staff can provide housekeeping, medication reminders, personal care, companionship, errands and respite care. Respite care is when someone already has a dedicated caregiver. It may be a parent , a spouse or another family member. In order to give that caregiver a break and an opportunity to recharge, our staff come to the home and provide care, allowing the family caregiver to leave for a designated period of time. This service is key in allowing someone to spend their last days in their home with their family by their side.

In 2012, AIRES came to decision to make an effort to significantly grow our HCBS program. These services are growing in popularity across the populations we serve and it was another way that we could live our Mission: helping people live happy, healthy, fulfilling lives. We are now providing nearly 8,000 hours of service to over 300 people statewide, with plans for continued growth.

I can't say enough good things about our hardworking staff that provides these services. As you may imagine, people who need these services do not have other supports and many have only us to rely on. Our staff sometimes deals with less than ideal conditions with a smile on their face. They may face end of life issues, dementia, mental illness and less than ideal housing conditions. On the flip side, they are also rewarded with gratitude and appreciation from the people they serve and their families. Our recent satisfaction surveys indicated that people are overwhelmingly happy with the services our staff provided.

I look forward to the continued expansion of our services over the next few years and serving more people and new areas. For more information on our Home & Community based services, please see our website (www.aires.org) or give us a call at 1-800-540-2050.

Doneen Volkmar
Vice President - HCBS

A Call for Support

AIRES, LLC has been providing services to individuals with developmental disabilities in Arizona for nearly 40 years. Personally, I have had the opportunity to experience the last nearly 20 years of that. During this period, I have seen good times and bad times. I have witnessed the times when Arizona's providers for the Division Developmental Disabilities (DDD) were adequately funded, with the end results being quality care for the individuals served. I have also experienced these much needed funds being stripped away, chunks at a time, and the end result is always a decrease in the quality, and quantity, of services that can be provided. There is no dispute that there is a direct correlation between funding and the quality, and amount, of services provided.

The only way to address this shortfall is through legislation and the time is now. I am asking you to contact your legislators and educate them on the funding issues that exist specific to DDD Providers.

They need to know that the rate for room and board in a group home setting is only 71.2% of the benchmark rate determined to be fair and equitable in the 2014 Rate Rebase Study. Room and board monies go towards food and housing for individuals living in group homes. Taking into account the price of food increases 5-30% yearly this rate is even less adequate than 2014, and will continue to be less effective year after year. Couple this with skyrocketing rental rates, especially in the metro Phoenix area (5.6% in the last 12 months), and it is clear that this service is grossly underfunded.

Maybe the most significant issue faced by providers is staffing. Legislators According to the Arizona Association of Providers for People with Disabilities (AAPPD) providers average turnover rate is 55.9% for direct care staff, with rural areas experiencing between 70-85%. At the current funding levels, most providers can afford to pay direct care staff between $8.05 and $8.75 per hour. This wage is not competitive and we are losing good staff to the food service and retail industries which pay significantly more. These high turnover rates lead to exorbitant increases in training costs and overtime. Most importantly, this excessive turnover leads to inconsistent staff in the homes reducing the quality of care individuals receive.

June 30th, 2015 the Department of Labor proposed new rules increasing the minimum salary requirement for exempt workers $23,600 annually to $50,,440. If this change comes to fruition the impact it would have on the provider community would be devastating. Many providers utilize these low to mid range managers to assist with the staffing deficit. Providers would be forced to take these managers to $50,440, which is an impossibility based on current funding or, pay overtime when these managers work over 40 hours in a week. In almost all cases, these managers' overtime rate of pay would exceed the rate providers are getting from DDD.

I believe we have come to a critical time in supporting people with developmental disabilities in Arizona. I would hope, as citizens of Arizona, you would share my concern. I am asking for your support in this fight to save these vital services for our fellow Arizonans.

To learn more about AIRES, LLC and our fight for adequate funds, please give us a call at (800) 540-2050 or visit our website.

Marc Langschwager
Vice President / Chief Operations Officer
AIRES, LLC.