For years, long-term care providers have faced significant workforce challenges and, for years, new Americans have played a pivotal role in addressing those challenges. Cassia is focused on recruiting, retaining, supporting and providing opportunities for advancement for these valued members of our workforce.
We know employees born abroad are not only essential members of our workforce, but deeply valued members of our communities. We are committed to making sure they feel welcomed, supported and equipped to thrive, both professionally and personally.
In support of these goals and commitments, Cassia has received the New American in the Long-Term Care Workforce Grant from the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
Why This Grant Matters Now
The purpose of this grant is to support specialized services and programs that help new Americans enter and thrive in the long-term care workforce. This funding aims to strengthen the sector by building and supporting a diverse workforce, improving retention and addressing staffing shortages through culturally responsive strategies.
This moment is especially important for Cassia. Many new Americans are eager to build careers in health care yet face barriers that can make it difficult to succeed without additional support. This grant allows us to honor the strengths they bring, remove obstacles that stand in their way and invest more fully in their success by fostering an environment that is both inclusive and supportive.
Who Are New Americans and What Challenges Do They Face?
New Americans are individuals born abroad and their children. They often bring strong dedication to the long-term care field and a desire to grow professionally, but may encounter barriers such as:
- Cultural differences in communication and workplace expectations
- Limited awareness of career pathways within long-term care
- Navigation of credentials or licenses
- Language access during onboarding
- Reliable transportation and childcare
“They face everything from barriers to work success like transportation and childcare all the way through training and not just knowing how they can grow in their experience and the field but getting some of that specialized training they may not realize is there and afforded to them,” says senior human resources director Jeri Rosenberg.
The grant focuses on reducing those barriers so employees can flourish.
Transforming Recruitment, Onboarding and Retention
The grant will help Cassia build stronger connections and pathways between new Americans and meaningful employment opportunities in long-term care. This includes culturally tailored recruitment efforts supported by a bilingual integration specialist.
Improved Onboarding
“As far as onboarding, it will help acclimate people around them to their culture,” Jeri says. This includes providing:
- Onboarding materials translated into priority languages
- Tools like Pocketalk for on-the-job communication
- Training for supervisors and staff on cultural responsiveness
These supports aren’t just about process — they are about ensuring new employees feel seen, heard and respected from their first day with us.
Strengthened Retention
Retention is about more than keeping someone employed. For Cassia, it means belonging, well-being and feeling part of a caring community.
“I think it’s going to make them feel like part of the community and it’s going to make them realize that we’re there to help them succeed and we want to give them any opportunity we can to help them,” Jeri says.
“In addition, this grant will help cover training costs and additional retention resources for Cassia and our communities,” says director of recruitment Sara Shore.
Supported training opportunities include:
- Safe Serve certification
- Certified Dietary Manager training
- Boiler license
- Therapeutic recreation certification
Reducing Barriers Through a Support Fund
Housing, transportation and emergency expenses can significantly impact work stability, especially for those new to a community. A confidential support fund will help new Americans facing these challenges.
“When you’re starting out in a job and you’re not familiar with the community or don’t have those trusting relationships yet, this helps them find that person who can get them started,” Jeri says.
“The goal is to help them in those areas and ideally lead to higher self confidence that leads to retention,” Sara adds.
By offering support during moments of uncertainty, Cassia reinforces the message that every employee deserves stability, dignity and care.
Strengthening Onboarding and Early Employment Stability
Language can be one of the biggest hurdles in early employment. Grant funding will support translation of essential onboarding materials and access to English classes to ensure employees feel equipped and confident from day one.
Peer Mentorship in the First 90 Days
Mentorship will be a cornerstone of early success.
“I think that’s a big deal to employees to have mentors and peers to assist them,” Sara says. “Mentors will spend extra time with new Americans to acclimate them and help them grow.”
“Sometimes when we have new American employees, they have trouble navigating where they need to go to complete paperwork,” Jeri says. “Having that mentor to take them around and guide them through the process and the right locations to go to can help.”
Mentorship is equally about relationships, trust and belonging—helping new employees feel they are not alone as they learn, ask questions and find their footing.
Supporting a Sense of Belonging
Another goal of the grant is to ensure employees feel connected and supported. Employee resource groups will help staff find community.
“We’re setting up different networking groups amongst all employees that may be of interest to help them find new friends and allow them to have hobbies and find those communities,” Jeri says.
Doing so helps employees find common ground and build relationships.
“It underscores our service standard of unity, so they feel connected,” Sara says. “It’s a trickledown effect that cascades down and impacts residents and other staff.”
Belonging is at the heart of this effort—creating a culture where employees feel celebrated for who they are, not just valued for what they do.
Training, Mentorship and Career Growth
The New American Scholarship Program will provide tuition, fees and related costs for employees seeking to advance their careers. Supported pathways will include education and training for roles such as:
- Certified nursing assistant
- Trained medication aid
- Licensed practical nurse
- Registered nurse
Cassia will partner with community and technical colleges to align coursework with employee needs and ensure equitable access to scholarships.
Career navigation will also play an important role.
“We are going to give folks the opportunity to take classes or be certified or advance knowledge in a certain area,” Sara says. “Hopefully, mentors can talk about career options. We’ll come up with ideas, but they can approach us with a class if they see one they want to take. We’ll walk them through the process of applying and paying for it.”
This approach will help Cassia promote staff from within as they pursue training, education and certification.
How This Grant Will Shape Cassia’s Workforce
Cassia leaders believe this grant will contribute to meaningful, long-term change.
“It will enhance the diversity and attractiveness to external candidates,” Sara says. “For internal employees, they’ll be excited to know we acknowledge their heritage, culture and ask to learn from them, as well.”
“We can do cultural training with residents and staff to enhance new Americans’ ability to feel like they belong and make them want to stay and grow with us,” Jeri adds.
Leaders hope the grant will help lower turnover, increase retention and referrals and create programs that Cassia can maintain long after the grant period ends.
Above all, this grant supports Cassia’s mission to create a long-term care environment where every staff member feels they belong, are celebrated and can grow, not only as employees, but as valued members of our communities.