Center For Caregiver Advancement

12/18/2025

🌟The California Caregiver of the Year Awards are still open for nominations! Who will you nominate?
Entry Reminder: Fill Out an Entry Form Today! 📝Show your appreciation for the amazing caregiver in your life.

Access the Entry Forms Here: https://advancecaregivers.org/california-caregiver-of-the-year-awards/

We won't accept any entries after Fri., Jan. 30, 2026, 6 pm (pacific time).

Nominate your favorite caregiver today! 💙

12/12/2025

Our very own CCA caregiving instructor, Andrew So, is the "Hero of the Week" featured on KNX Radio, hosted by Heather Jordan!

Andrew discusses skills that can help caregivers manage the symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease & Related Dementias for their loved ones. Listen or read the full interview via the KNX News 97.1 FM post below 👇

Our KNX Hero of the Week Andrew So is a volunteer skills instructor who is teaching caregivers how to navigate through those tough times when caring for people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

12/10/2025

The Center for Caregiver Advancement (CCA) extends our deepest gratitude to the distinguished partners who joined us for our End-of-Year Event on December 8, 2025. 🙏✨

Our guest panelists led dynamic conversations on the value of caregiver training, worker power, and the policy issues shaping the future of caregiving. Their insights will guide and strengthen our work as we head into 2026. 💪🏽📚

A heartfelt thank-you to our exceptional panelists for sharing their expertise and experience:

🌟 Dr. Sameer Amin, Chief Medical Officer, L.A. Care Health Plan
🌟 Jarmin Yeh, PhD, Associate Professor, UCSF
🌟 Abby Snay, Deputy Secretary, California Labor & Workforce Development Agency
🌟 Sergio Donis, Statewide Field Director, SEIU Local 2015
🌟 Amanda Steel, Deputy Policy Director, SEIU Local 2015
🌟 Ericka Ochoa, Private Sector Coordinator, SEIU Local 2015
🌟 Julianne Williams, MPH, Certified Grief Counselor

During the discussion about how caregiver training can help fill gaps in health care, Dr. Amin emphasized that because our healthcare system is complex, along with other skills, caregivers should be trained in...
"...how to access the different resources and programs that may help their care recipients. It is the joint responsibility of training providers and healthcare program providers to help caregivers navigate this to coordinate care.”

Professor Jarmin Yeh highlighted the complexity of the caregiving role itself, adding, "There is this misconception that caregiving is low-skill work when it is complex work!"

We look forward to strengthening our partnerships and driving meaningful change together in 2026. 🌱🤝

L.A. Care Health Plan of California, San Francisco SEIU Local 2015

12/05/2025

“I never expected to become a Certified Nursing Assistant, but I love it. I see my residents as family.” – Emmanuel “Manny” Moreno, Certified Nursing Assistant Trainee

When Windsor Gardens employee Manny Moreno was offered the chance to join a tuition-free CNA Training Pathway through the Center for Caregiver Advancement (CCA), he wasn’t sure he could do it. Six weeks later, he discovered not just a new career—but a calling.

💙 Read how CCA’s training program helped Manny advance into a healthcare career and inspire others to follow in his footsteps. https://advancecaregivers.org/nursing-assistant-career-becoming-a-cna/

SEIU Local 2015

12/01/2025

CCA is in the NEWS!📢 Cindy H., an In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) caregiver for her mother, is featured on Spectrum News 1 SoCal!📣

Cindy received caregiver training at the Center for Caregiver Advancement (CCA) through the IHSS program. "CCA is a life changer," says Cindy. "I'm so happy I can get the word out there!"

Cindy took CCA's Alzheimer's Disease & Related Dementias course to learn how to manage her mom's dementia & to connect with the caregiving community.

CCA President and CEO Corinne Eldridge spoke w/ reporter Jo Kwon about the importance of caregiver training. Read the story! 👇👇

Home caregivers receive training through local Center to help fill the IHSS gap

11/26/2025

We wish our wonderful friends, partners, collaborators, and caregiving community a very Happy Thanksgiving. We are grateful for you! 🍂

The Center for Caregiver Advancement (CCA) is closed on November 27 & 28 for the Thanksgiving holiday. 🍂🍁

11/25/2025

More than 300 caregivers graduated this month after completing the IHSS San Bernardino Training Program for Caregivers. 🎓✨ They learned "Caregiving Essentials."

Another 403 caregivers participated in a control group, as part of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that analyzes the impact of caregiver training.

We have seen high demand for this caregiver training program in . Enrollment for the next set of courses offered through this program opens in January 2026.
Learn more: https://advancecaregivers.org/in-home-caregiver-training/

11/21/2025

🌟 From Cook to Caregiver: Elizabeth’s Inspiring Journey 🌟

For 10 years, Elizabeth V. worked in the kitchen of a nursing home, preparing meals to ensure residents received their prescribed nutrition plans. But her dream of becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) never faded — she was just waiting for the right time.

Now, as a single mom of two, Elizabeth has finally achieved that dream through the Center for Caregiver Advancement (CCA)’s tuition-free CNA Training Pathway Program🎓

“I wanted to show my kids that mommy can learn, too,” she says. ❤️ Through hard work, late-night study sessions, and support from her employer, the Ed Fund, union (SEIU Local 2015) & CCA, Elizabeth is stepping into a new chapter — one filled with purpose, confidence, and opportunity. 🙌

💬 “Thanks to CCA for this opportunity! Without this free training, I couldn’t have done it.”

Elizabeth’s story is proof that it’s never too late to grow, learn, and lead by example.

👉 Read her full story and learn how you can start your own CNA journey:
🔗 https://advancecaregivers.org/from-kitchen-to-care-floor-as-a-cna/

11/21/2025

En el marco del , destacamos el papel fundamental de los cuidadores compartiendo la historia de Hellen.💙 https://ow.ly/3hbi50Xvbsw

L.A. Care Health Plan

Luchando, pero sin rendirse: La determinación de una madre. Hellen podría recibir una remuneración por ser cuidadora bajo el programa de Servicios de Apoyo en el Hogar (IHSS) de California.

11/20/2025

To highlight the essential role of caregivers in November, , we are sharing Hellen's story. 💙

Hellen's son José has cerebral palsy, requiring long-term care. Hellen was able to become an In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) provider for José through the IHSS program, which meant that she could be paid wages for the extra care that she was already providing him.

Her status as an IHSS provider and José's membership in the L.A. Care Health Plan also gave her access to free caregiver training at the Center for Caregiver Advancement (CCA) to develop the skills she needed to better assist her son.

Thanks to the skills she acquired through her training at CCA, Hellen has improved Jose's health & well-being. She has also been able to access other resources that improve her son's life -- and hers!

Read their caregiving story: https://advancecaregivers.org/a-mothers-caregiver-training-transformed-her-sons-life/

A mother gained caregiver training to help her son with cerebral palsy. As an IHSS provider she has accessed resources to improve their lives.

11/17/2025

🌟Exciting News! We are accepting Nominations for the California Caregiver of the Year Awards, presented by the Center for Caregiver Advancement (CCA)! 🌟

Winners will receive a cash prize and a commemorative trophy. 💲🏆
Entry submissions will open on Monday, November 17, 2025, and close on Friday, January 30, 2026, by 6 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time).

💙Caregivers are essential to the health, safety & independence of our most vulnerable - older adults and people with disabilities - enabling them to live quality lives. This is your chance to nominate an outstanding caregiver to be recognized and honored for their work.
We are accepting nominations in 3 categories:

1) IHSS provider (paid)
2) Family caregiver (unpaid)
3) Nursing home caregiver (CNA, RNA, LVN)

Caregivers are encouraged to nominate themselves!

Entry forms are available in English, Armenian, Korean, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Learn more at: cca.fyi/COYA

11/14/2025

World Diabetes Day is November 14, 2025. 🩵This awareness campaign reaches a global audience of over 1 billion people!
🩵Here in California, many In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) providers in our community care for older adults who have diabetes. Caregivers can help manage this condition. That is why the Center for Caregiver Advancement (CCA) developed a curriculum for "Diabetes Care & Nutrition" as one component of our In-Home Caregiver Training, which we hope to offer again soon, as programming allows.

Learn more about CCA caregiving courses: https://advancecaregivers.org/in-home-caregiver-training/