By Roger Adkins, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The plan to fill the gap in direct-care workers involves a familiar concept — bringing retirees back into the workforce.
West Virginia has a shortage of teachers and service personnel, particularly, bus drivers. County boards of education have been petitioning the West Virginia Board of Education to incentivize retired teachers back into the classroom, and a bill before the Legislature supports putting retired bus drivers back behind the wheel.
Similar tactics have been employed to plug shortages in the Department of Health and Human Resources.
Now, officials are looking to copy and paste the idea onto the direct-care workforce, which needs nearly 20% more workers, according to a presentation given to lawmakers Friday by Jane Marks, state volunteer president for AARP-West Virginia…
