In-Home Healthcare Workers and Employers Get Boost with Incentive Program

The City of St. Louis and FORWARD, a leading integrated program administration solution for local governments, are mobilizing the Employee Retention and Recruitment (R&R) incentive project to address the shortage of in-home care workers on the local level. Full-time and part-time in-home care employees living in the City of St. Louis, who work for In-Home Care Agencies that are approved for the incentive, will receive a $100 gift card for every verified 80 hours they work. 

The City of St. Louis believes that direct In-home care workers are diligent and compassionate in their work with elderly and the disabled, and they deserve to be recognized. The City of St. Louis Board of Aldermen and Mayor made this project possible with ARPA funds for in-home healthcare workers, to ensure that these committed nurses and caregivers, who give St. Louis residents’ the highest level of care, are supported.

Project R&R will provide gift cards to eligible in-home healthcare workers. The program is designed to support current employees of existing local healthcare providers on the job and to encourage and attract new employees to provide the service of caring for the elderly and disabled. The incentive is available for City of St. Louis residents who are in-home care employees. Eligible employees can re-apply each time they complete 80 hours of work, and can receive up to ten $100 gift cards, until the funding is exhausted.

Individuals with a total income at or below 185% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) living within the geographical confines of the City of St. Louis are eligible for the program. For example, an employee with a family of four must have a household income of less than $55,500 to qualify.

The City of St. Louis Department of Human Services and the St. Louis Area Agency on Aging (SLAAA) selected FORWARD as a partner to receive applications through a secure online portal, complete a thorough review of the applications, and approve eligible recipients for the gift cards. Applicants can expect:

• To apply online through the secure online application portal
• To access application support available via phone, text and email in multiple languages
• To present a recent pay stub, a completed W-9 form, and a copy of photo ID in order to be considered for gift card eligibility.

To apply, please go to https://forwardplatform.com/st-louis-project-rr/

If you need help with your application, please contact FORWARD at 1-855-582-3973.

If you have general questions about the program, please e-mail Molly Dwyer at dwyerm@stlouis-mo.gov.