For home care workers like us, the looming long-term care crisis isn’t just a matter of public policy – it’s the everyday reality of long hours, low pay, and coping with the stress of having another person’s life in our hands. There are medical appointments and sleepless nights and the special skills we develop such as tube feeding, lifting our clients in and out of beds or wheelchairs, and performing personal hygiene for them.
The intimate world of our daily work is exactly what our policy makers need to understand if we want them to craft a long-term care plan for a future where everyone has the care they need.
That’s why we have been participating in the California Task Force on Family Caregiving (CTFFC). Started last summer to examine the challenges faced by family caregivers and seek out opportunities to support caregivers and strengthen our policies on care, the task force is made up of ten stakeholders in the long-term care community. As one of the task force members, UDW Executive Director Doug Moore gives IHSS caregivers a seat at the table as the state works to create a system of care to meet California’s growing needs.
The task force is part of UDW’s work to strengthen the care experience for our members by strengthening care overall. Writing recently in the Huffington Post, UDW Executive Director Doug Moore explained our commitment to working to ensure a sustainable future for long-term care, not just for ourselves and our clients, but for our communities and the state of California.
“With the California Task Force on Family Caregiving, we are joining with other long-term care stakeholders to develop policy recommendations that work for everyone—including caregivers,” said Moore.
The task force will conclude its work this summer with a recommendation to the legislature. “At UDW, we know that providers are the heart of care and any sustainable system must prioritize support for caregivers,” Moore said.
