Gillibrand introduces legislation to support direct care workforce

WASHINGTON, D.C. | Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), ranking member of the Senate Aging Committee, introduced legislation to support direct care workers and family caregivers, who provide essential daily care to seniors and people with disabilities. The Supporting Our Direct Care Workforce and Family Caregivers Act would provide federal funding to states and other eligible entities to help build, train, and retain the direct care workforce—including certified nursing assistants (CNAs), home health aides, and personal health assistants—as well as family caregivers. "Direct care workers provide a vital support system for seniors and people with disabilities. But too often, these workers are underpaid and overworked—resulting in a growing labor shortage in the field and increasing pressure on family caregivers," said Sen. Gillibrand. "This legislation will help give caregivers the training and resources that they deserve, helping guarantee that our loved ones get the care that they need to live and age with dignity." As of 2024, the United States was home to 60 million seniors and more than 45 million people living with disabilities. At the same time, the direct care workforce is suffering from a growing labor shortage. This, in turn, often puts pressure on family caregivers. An estimated 4.1 million New Yorkers serve as caregivers, providing more than 2.6 billion hours of hands-on care to family members each year. Nationwide, 63 million American adults—nearly a quarter of the U.S. adult population—provide care to adults or children with a medical condition or disability. Many of those individuals significantly reduce their work hours or leave the workforce entirely to provide care for a dependent relative at some point in their career. Specifically, the Supporting Our Direct Care Workforce and Family Caregivers Act would: Direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Community Living (ACL), to award grants to states or other eligible entities for initiatives to build, retain, train, and promote the direct care workforce and to provide grants for states or other entities for educational and training support for both paid and unpaid family caregivers. Codify ACL's technical assistance center to support direct care workforce development and family caregivers. ACL established this center in 2022 through agency authority. This provision codifies the center and expands its work to include supporting family caregivers. The assistance at the center includes: Working with states, key stakeholders, and other entities to establish career development and advancement strategies for direct care professionals, including national standards, recruitment campaigns, on-the-job training opportunities, apprenticeship programs, and certifications. Analyzing national data gaps, workforce shortage areas, and data collection strategies for direct care professionals. Developing recommendations and disseminating best practices for the direct care workforce and family caregivers. The Supporting Our Direct Care Workforce and Family Caregivers Act is supported by the American Association on Health and Disability, American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR), the Arc of the United States, A Better Balance, Care in Action, Caring Across Generations, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Cure SMA, Economic Policy Institute, Family Values @ Work, Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network, Justice in Aging, Lakeshore Foundation, the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals, Inc. (NADSP), PHI, Main Street Alliance, National Disability Rights Network, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, National Women's Law Center, and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). In addition to Sen. Gillibrand, the bill is cosponsored by Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Jack Reed (D-RI). The full text of the legislation can be found here.

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Gillibrand introduces legislation to support direct care workforce

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