Vashon Care Network offers scholarships for caregiver training

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Every day, more than 800,000 Washingtonians perform a labor of love: caring for older parents, spouses and other loved ones so they can remain at home, where they want to be. This statistic from AARP is deeply familiar to many islanders who have become round-the-clock caregivers for their homebound loved ones. At a certain point in the journey, the demands and needs of the patient exceed the capacity and resources of family members or close friends.

In its role providing support to family and independent caregivers, the Vashon Care Network receives almost daily calls from exhausted family members in desperate need of caregiving assistance. It has become clear that as Vashon’s aging population grows, there is an increasing need for a cadre of independent caregivers with a range of skills and experience whom islanders can hire to provide assistance with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, eating and taking medications.

In response to the need for competent, trained caregivers, the Vashon Care Network, in partnership with the Vashon Senior Center and with VSHSL funding, has provided 19 scholarships over the past four years to cover the cost of training, exams and licensing to become a Home Care Aide certified by the state of Washington. The Department of Social and Health Services requires Home Care Aide certification to provide care to low-income individuals and families who qualify for services paid for through the state’s Community Options Program Entry System, or COPES.

The scholarship program expands the island’s skilled caregiving workforce, helping to ensure that elders can remain in their homes and lead healthy, active lives as long as possible. The reality is that finding competent, well-trained caregivers, no matter one’s income, is a huge challenge for aging islanders. Finding a jewel of a caregiver has become one of the challenges of living in our island paradise.

On Vashon, there is a chronic need for qualified Home Care Aides. This means that even if a low-income family qualifies for assistance for a loved one at home, they may have a hard time finding a qualified caregiver.

To help meet the growing need for certified independent caregivers, the Vashon Care Network is committed to providing scholarships for the training of six Home Care Aides in spring 2026. The Home Care Aide training program is online and self-paced, supplemented with optional in-person, on-island skills training sessions. Guidelines, a complete description of the training program and the application form are available at vashoncarenetwork.org.

Scholarship applications will be accepted through April 3, 2026, and selection will be completed by April 30, 2026.

Training will begin the week of May 11, 2026. For additional information, email Tory Hayes at victoriansmith@comcast.net

or Kate O’Hare at keohare@gmail.com.

Tory Hayes is a volunteer with the Vashon Care Network.