IMPART Alliance is a statewide program with an institutional home in the College of Osteopathic Medicine/Family and Community Medicine. Its primary purpose is to assist the state of Michigan with developing an infrastructure that builds and supports the direct care workforce. Dr. Clare Luz is the founding director. Direct care workers (DCW) provide the kind of care that allows an individual to stay in their own home as long, and as independently as possible. They generally spend more time with an individual than any other member of a care team and as such are in a pivotal position to affect outcomes, for better or worse. Yet, there are currently no federal competency or training requirements for most categories of DCWs. There is a current, acute shortage of DCWs across MI. It is estimated that we need approximately 39K more than we currently have. The shortage is due in part to a rapid aging population, one of the most consequential and pressing issues currently confronting society. It affects all of us both individually and collectively. It has a major impact on the health care industry, other industries, the economy, housing, transportation, and most all socioeconomic systems.

IMPART Alliance was established in 2016 with grants from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund (totaling over 1 million dollars.) but grew out of years of developing comprehensive, person-centered DCW training programs, advocating on behalf of DCWs, and conducting community-based, participatory research, much of it in partnership with state government. Since 2020, our efforts have been gaining traction. IMPART Alliance has emerged as the primary organization in the state with expertise in DCWs and the shortage. We are now partnering with all major stakeholders and leadership across the state to affect system changes from Detroit and Southeast MI to the U.P. Primary goals are to raise wages and benefits for DCWs, professionalize this workforce, and raise awareness among the public and decision makers about the value of DCWs to society.

In 2020, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services established the statewide DCW Advisory Committee, which Dr. Luz co-chairs. Also in 2020, IMPART Alliance partnered with PHI, a national organization advocating on behalf of DCWs, with a presence in Detroit. PHI received a large Kellogg Foundation grant to work with three states to raise up DCWs through policy reform in three areas; wages/benefits, professionalization, and better data collection and use. One outcome is the establishment of a statewide DCW Coalition, which Dr. Luz Chairs. The Coalition has grown from 100 members to over 600 members in the last year.