Section 72. (a) The workforce council shall carry out the following duties:

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(1) Undertake recruiting efforts to identify and recruit prospective personal care attendants;

(2) Provide training opportunities, either directly or through contract, for personal care attendants and consumers;

(3) Provide assistance to consumers and consumer surrogates in finding personal care attendants by establishing a referral directory of personal care attendants; provided that before placing a personal care attendant on the referral directory, the workforce council shall determine that the personal care attendant has met the requirements established by the executive office in its applicable regulations and has not stated in writing a desire to be excluded from the directory;

(4) Provide routine, emergency and respite referrals of personal care attendants to consumers and consumer surrogates who are authorized to receive long-term, in-home personal care services through a personal care attendant;

(5) Give preference in the recruiting, training, referral and employment of personal care attendants to recipients of public assistance or other low-income persons who would qualify for public assistance in the absence of such employment; and

(6) Cooperate with state and local agencies on health and aging and other federal, state and local agencies to provide the services described and set forth in this section. If the PCA quality home care workforce council identifies concerns regarding the services being provided by a personal care attendant, the workforce council shall notify the relevant office.

(b) In determining how best to carry out its duties, the PCA quality home care workforce council shall identify existing personal care attendant recruitment, training and referral resources made available to consumers or the consumer’s surrogate by other state and local public, private and nonprofit agencies. The council may coordinate with the agencies to provide a local presence for the council and to provide consumers or the consumer’s surrogate greater access to personal care attendant recruitment, training and referral resources in a cost-effective manner. Using requests for proposals or similar processes, the council may contract with the agencies to provide recruitment, training and referral. The council shall provide an opportunity for consumer participation in coordination efforts.

(c) The commonwealth shall provide to the council a list of all personal care attendants who have been paid through the MassHealth personal care attendant program and shall update the list not less frequently than every 6 months to ensure that the council has a complete and accurate list at all times.