Childcare and Senior Care

The many benefits of universal child care include alleviating some of the burdens of childcare costs on families, and alleviating the time costs on families, which can allow parents, especially women, to re-enter the workforce. The Center for American Progress reported that in Canada, Germany, Chile, Israel, England, after some form of universal, full-time child care increased workforce participation for mothers by at least 2 percentage points. Washington, DC implemented universal preschool within the last decade and saw an increase of 10 percentage points in the workforce.

In 2021, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Mondaire Jones reintroduced the Universal Child Care and Early Learning Act which would ensure high-quality, affordable childcare. This legislation would provide free child care for families below 200% of the federal poverty line, while families higher on the federal poverty line would be provided with subsidized child care. The Universal Child Care and Early Learning Act is supported by many lawmakers in addition to the advocacy organizations and stakeholders in the field. During my time in Congress, I will be supportive of this legislation.  

What informed our plan?

• Center for American Progress Action Fund: The Effects of Universal Preschool in Washington, D.C.
• Warren, Jones and Colleagues Reintroduce Universal Child Care

We must expand the framework that provides assisted living to seniors through Medicaid. Currently it has been reported that, “for millions of Americans taking care of elderly or disabled loved ones, resources are expensive. Government assistance is provided through Medicaid, but only those with the lowest incomes qualify, and many who qualify don’t get the assistance because many states cap the number of eligible recipients, creating long waiting lists.” We must reform this service and make sure that more families are eligible to receive government assistance for senior care.

I support the American Families Plan which carves out money for home and community based services through the Older Americans Act, money for helping family caregivers support their family members, and money to help “safeguard the health and welfare of residents in long-term care facilities.” Once I am elected to Congress I will work to make sure senior care gets the attention and funding it deserves because an investment in our elderly family members is an act that honors their legacies.

What informed our plan?

• NBC News: Families are trying to keep their loved ones out of nursing homes, but in-home care is expensive
• The White House: Fact Sheet – Biden-⁠Harris Administration Delivers Funds to Support the Health of Older Americans

When people-centered industries aren’t invested in, our whole society suffers. Workers in these spaces are undervalued and that means there’s little to incentivize them to remain in what are important, but challenging jobs. With a lack of staffing, the quality of care in these spaces also suffer, for example, Human Rights Watch reports that “nursing homes are chronically understaffed…during the pandemic, shortages became particularly acute, undermining some nursing homes’ ability to provide quality care.”

Staffers aren’t only suffering from a shortage of resources, they’re unequipped with the right mental health support, benefits, and training that can empower the highest standard of care. The impact of this is seen in neglect in our elderly care but also in bias-related trends in childcare, where Black children are more likely to be disciplined along racial lines, with the police often becoming involved even at the earliest ages of childcare.

Investing in people centered industries means:

• Reducing Staffing Deficits By Incentivizing Workers: Making these jobs more attractive to job seekers by mandating worker protections in these fields, government subsidies that can improve their salaries and increase benefits
• Mandating Training and Support to Improve Quality of Care: Requiring trauma-informed, culturally-sensitive training will reduce bias and neglect in this work and improve overall care
• Increase Accountability through the Law: By establishing accountability measures in the law to protect workers and those being served, we protect our communities from a situation that is currently described as “fundamentally unfair” for residents and that has a “deleterious impact on the quality of care.”

As we become more conscious of the threats of AI to many of our jobs, one solution to protect jobs for Americans is in investing in these industries where technological advances can support but never reduce the need for workers.

What informed our plan?

• The Center for American Progress: Preschool to Prison
• Northwestern University: Study finds discipline disparities in preschool driven by racial bias
• Human Rights Watch: US – Concerns of Neglect in Nursing Homes