Methodology

State-by-State Data Sources

Every state profile is built from a combination of national databases and state-specific sources. This page documents the Medicaid agency, labor department, legislative fiscal office, and key workforce organizations for each of the 50 states and D.C.

51
State and territory profiles with documented sources
20
Core national databases used across all states
6
Data categories per state (100+ metrics each)
10
Data confidence levels tracking source quality
Source hierarchy

How we prioritize sources

When multiple sources exist for the same metric, we apply a consistent hierarchy across all 51 jurisdictions. Higher-tier sources always take precedence.

Tier 1: Government primary data

Bureau of Labor Statistics (OES), CMS Medicaid data, state DHS/Medicaid agency reports, state legislative fiscal bureau analyses, and Federal Register publications. These are the most reliable, most frequently updated, and most consistently available sources. Public

Tier 2: Academic and research organizations

PHI Direct Care Worker Index, MIT Living Wage Calculator, KFF State Medicaid Fact Sheets, Brown University LTCFocus, Mathematica/CMS LTSS reports. Peer-reviewed or methodologically transparent research with documented methodology. Public

Tier 3: Industry and advocacy sources

Genworth/CareScout Cost of Care Survey, NELP state law maps, provider association surveys (LeadingAge, AHCA affiliates), union contract data (SEIU, AFSCME, 1199SEIU). Useful for metrics not available from Tier 1–2, but require cross-validation. Proxy

Tier 4: Derived and estimated values

Calculated from public sources (living wage gaps, cost ratios, OT loss projections) or estimated from national proxies applied to state data. Always flagged with the calculation methodology. Derived Estimated

Medicaid agencies

State Medicaid and health agencies

The primary source for HCBS enrollment, waiver programs, provider rates, and managed care data in each state.

State Medicaid / Health Agency Key HCBS Programs Managed Care Expansion
Tier 1 — States with existing OT protections
CA DHCSdhcs.ca.gov IHSS (In-Home Supportive Services) Medi-Cal MCOs Yes
CT DSSportal.ct.gov/dss CT Home Care Program, PCA waiver HUSKY Health Yes
HI DHS Med-QUESTmedquest.hawaii.gov QUEST Integration 1115 waiver QUEST MCOs Yes
IL HFShfs.illinois.gov Home Services Program, DoA CCP waiver HealthChoice Illinois Yes
MA MassHealth / EOHHSmass.gov/masshealth PCA Program, MFP, PACE MCO + ACO Yes
MD MDH / Medicaidhealth.maryland.gov CO waiver, Model waiver, TBI waiver HealthChoice Yes
MI DHHSmichigan.gov/mdhhs MI Choice waiver, PACE, HSW Healthy Michigan Yes
NJ DHS / DMAHSnj.gov/humanservices MLTSS, GO waiver, JACC NJ FamilyCare MCOs Yes
NV DHCFPdhcfp.nv.gov PCS waiver, HCBS waiver; SB 511 MCO (urban) Yes
NY DOH / OHIPhealth.ny.gov CDPAP, NHTD, TBI waivers MLTC Plans Yes
OR OHA / ODHSoregon.gov/oha K Plan, 1915(k) Community First Choice CCOs Yes
PA DHSdhs.pa.gov Aging waiver, COMMCARE, OBRA CHC MCOs Yes
VT DVHA / AHSdvha.vermont.gov Global Commitment 1115 waiver, Choices for Care DVHA single-payer model Yes
WA HCA / DSHShca.wa.gov COPES, New Freedom, DDA waivers Apple Health MCOs Yes
Tier 2 — States without OT protections beyond federal FLSA
AL Medicaid Agencymedicaid.alabama.gov E&D waiver, SAIL waiver, ACT Alabama Coordinated Health Network No
AK DHSS / Medicaidhealth.alaska.gov 1915(k) PCS, ALI waiver FFS Yes
AZ AHCCCSazahcccs.gov ALTCS (Arizona Long-Term Care System) ALTCS MCOs Yes
AR DHShumanservices.arkansas.gov ARChoices, IndependentChoices PASSE Yes
CO HCPFhcpf.colorado.gov HCBS-EBD, HCBS-SLS, HCBS-DD waivers ACC MCOs Yes
DE DHSS / DMMAdhss.delaware.gov Diamond State Health Plan Plus (MLTSS) DSHP MCOs Yes
DC DHCFdhcf.dc.gov EPD waiver, IDD waiver MCOs Yes
FL AHCAahca.myflorida.com SMMC LTC waiver (48K+ waitlist) SMMC MCOs No
GA DCHdch.georgia.gov CCSP, NOW/COMP waivers, SOURCE CMOs No
ID DHWhealthandwelfare.idaho.gov A&D waiver, DD waiver Idaho Medicaid MCO Yes
IN FSSA / OMPPin.gov/fssa A&D waiver, BDDS waivers, Pathways Hoosier Care Connect Yes
IA DHS / HHSdhs.iowa.gov IA Health Link MLTSS waivers IA Health Link MCOs Yes
KS KDADS / KDHEkdads.ks.gov HCBS/FE, HCBS/PD, TA waivers KanCare MCOs Yes
KY DMS / CHFSchfs.ky.gov HCB, ABI, Michelle P waivers MCOs Yes
LA LDHldh.la.gov LT-PCS, OCDD waivers, CCW Healthy Louisiana MCOs Yes
ME DHHS / OMSmaine.gov/dhhs Section 19, Section 21 waivers MaineCare (mostly FFS) Yes
MN DHSmn.gov/dhs CADI, BI, DD, EW waivers, PCA Choice MA/MSC+ MCOs Yes
MS DOMmedicaid.ms.gov E&D waiver, IDD waiver, TBI waiver MississippiCAN MCOs No
MO DSS / MHDdss.mo.gov Aged & Disabled waiver, Missouri CDS MO HealthNet MCOs Yes
MT DPHHSdphhs.mt.gov Big Sky waiver, SDMI waiver FFS Yes
NE DHHSdhhs.ne.gov Aged & Disabled waiver, DD waivers Heritage Health MCOs Yes
NH DHHSdhhs.nh.gov Choices for Independence waiver Granite Advantage MCOs Yes
NM HSD / MADhsd.state.nm.us Mi Via, Centennial Care MLTSS Centennial Care MCOs Yes
NC DHHS / DMHncdhhs.gov CAP/DA, CAP/C, Innovations waivers NC Medicaid Managed Care (2024) Yes
ND DHS / Medical Servicesnd.gov/dhs HCBS waiver, SPED waiver FFS Yes
OH ODMmedicaid.ohio.gov PASSPORT, MyCare Ohio MLTSS Managed Care MCOs Yes
OK OHCAoklahoma.gov/ohca ADvantage waiver, SQ 802 expansion SoonerSelect MCOs Yes
RI EOHHSeohhs.ri.gov Rhody Health Options MLTSS MCOs Yes
SC DHHSscdhhs.gov CLTC waiver, HASCI waiver Healthy Connections MCOs No
SD DSSdss.sd.gov HOPE waiver, Choices waiver FFS No
TN TennCare / DIDDtn.gov/tenncare CHOICES (TennCare MLTSS) TennCare MCOs Yes
TX HHSChhs.texas.gov STAR+PLUS MLTSS, CLASS, DBMD waivers STAR+PLUS MCOs No
UT DHHSdhhs.utah.gov Aging waiver, New Choices waiver ACOs Partial
VA DMASdmas.virginia.gov CCC Plus MLTSS, DD waivers CCC Plus MCOs Yes
WV DHHR / BMSdhhr.wv.gov Aged & Disabled waiver, I/DD waiver Mountain Health Trust MCOs Yes
WI DHSdhs.wisconsin.gov Family Care, IRIS, Partnership Family Care MCOs Yes
WY DOH / Medicaidhealth.wyo.gov LT Care, Supports waivers FFS No
Labor departments

State labor and employment data sources

State labor agencies provide occupational employment projections, vacancy surveys, and wage data that supplement federal BLS statistics.

State Labor / Employment Agency Key Data Products OES Partner Vacancy Data
States with dedicated home care workforce data
CA EDDedd.ca.gov Occupational employment projections, LMI data Yes Yes
MN DEEDmn.gov/deed Job Vacancy Survey (biennial), occupational projections Yes Yes
NY DOLdol.ny.gov Occupational outlook, wage data, home care employment Yes Partial
TX TWCtwc.texas.gov Occupational projections, LMCI data Yes Partial
WA ESDesd.wa.gov Occupational outlook, employment estimates Yes Yes
WI DWDdwd.wisconsin.gov Occupational projections, workforce surveys Yes Yes
All other states
All 50 states participate in the BLS OES cooperative survey, providing state-level wage and employment data for SOC 31-1120 (Home Health and Personal Care Aides). State labor agencies are the local partners for this data. Vacancy-specific surveys are less common — most states rely on BLS JOLTS regional data or provider association surveys. States with dedicated vacancy reporting are highlighted above.
Legislative fiscal offices

State budget and fiscal analysis sources

Legislative fiscal bureaus provide Medicaid budget analyses, program spending data, and rate assumptions used in cost projections.

Universal coverage

All 50 states have a legislative fiscal office or equivalent that produces Medicaid budget analyses. These offices are primary sources for state-level Medicaid spending data, FMAP calculations, and program cost projections. Key offices include Wisconsin’s Legislative Fiscal Bureau (docs.legis.wisconsin.gov), Minnesota’s House Research (house.mn.gov/hrd), California’s LAO (lao.ca.gov), New York’s Division of the Budget (budget.ny.gov), and Texas’s LBB (lbb.texas.gov).

Workforce organizations

Unions, coalitions, and advocacy sources

Home care worker unions and disability coalitions provide contract data, workforce surveys, and policy impact data not available from government sources.

Organization States Covered Data Available Access
Home care worker unions
SEIU 2015 California IHSS contract terms, wage scales, workforce demographics, turnover data Free
SEIU 775 Washington Contract wages, training fund (BTC), retention data, IP workforce surveys Free
1199SEIU NY, MA, RI, CT, MD, NJ, FL Contract terms, home care wage scales, workforce stabilization data Free
SEIU Healthcare MN, IL, IN, MO, KS PCA contract terms, EVV impacts, wage data Free
AFSCME OR, IL, OH, PA, WI Home care worker contract terms, public-sector bargaining data Free
SEIU 32BJ DC, MD, VA, NJ, NY Contract terms, home care workforce data in Mid-Atlantic Free
Disability and caregiver coalitions
Survival Coalition Wisconsin Caregiver workforce surveys, disability impacts, policy analysis Free
ADAPT National (all states) Community integration advocacy, HCBS access data, Olmstead compliance Free
State DD Councils All 50 states + DC DD waiver data, self-directed program enrollment, provider network capacity Free
National Domestic Workers Alliance National (12 state affiliates) DWBoR status, policy campaigns, worker survey data Free
Provider associations
LeadingAge (state affiliates) All 50 states Vacancy rates, turnover data, provider capacity surveys Free/Request
AHCA/NCAL (state affiliates) All 50 states Nursing home and home care provider workforce surveys, staffing data Free/Request
HCAOA National Home care industry benchmarking, turnover rates, revenue data Members
Data confidence

Status indicators and what they mean

Every metric on every state profile carries a status indicator showing the source quality and confidence level. These 10 statuses are applied consistently across all 51 jurisdictions.

Badge Status Meaning
Public Directly available Verified against a Tier 1 or Tier 2 primary source (BLS, CMS, state agency, PHI, KFF). Highest confidence.
Derived Calculated Computed from two or more public sources using documented methodology (e.g., living wage gap = MIT living wage − BLS median).
Estimated Best estimate From secondary sources or reasonable inference. Needs verification against primary source. Flagged for future FOIA or data update.
Proxy Imprecise National average or regional proxy applied to a state where state-specific data is unavailable. Common for turnover rates and demographic breakdowns.
Partial Partially available Some dimensions of the metric are documented; others remain gaps. Common for geographic data where urban counties are documented but rural are not.
FOIA Requires records request Data exists but is not publicly published. A pre-drafted FOIA request is available in the FOIA Tracker.
Gap Not available Data does not appear to be collected or published by any source. Highest priority for future research.
Pending Awaiting determination Source has been identified but data has not yet been retrieved or verified.
Analysis Requires interpretation Raw data exists but requires analysis, calculation, or expert interpretation to produce a usable metric.
Monitor Status monitoring Active regulatory, legislative, or legal process where the value may change. Checked regularly for updates.

Transparency commitment

We document what we know, what we don’t know, and what we’re working to find out. Every Gap and FOIA badge is an invitation — if you have access to data we’re missing, we want to hear from you. The FOIA Tracker contains 490 pre-drafted public records requests across 49 states targeting the most critical data gaps.

More methodology

Related pages

Registry

Data Sources Registry

The 20 core national databases, surveys, and government reports used across all state profiles.

→ Source registry
490 requests

FOIA Tracker

Pre-drafted public records requests targeting data gaps across 49 states.

→ FOIA tracker
Transparency

Known Data Gaps

Metrics requiring FOIA, independent analysis, or county-level research.

→ Known gaps
Take action

Action Toolkit

Model legislation, talking points, FOIA templates, and more.

→ Action Toolkit