America needs more home care workers

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Many people view homecare as a personal issue, but it has a significant economic impact:

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1. There is a growing shortage of qualified home care workers, and no one is rushing to join the industry since these workers earn a meager $16/hour
2. When families can’t find care, adult children, typically women, drop out of the workforce to care for their elderly parents

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A better system would improve the economic prospects of qualified home care workers and keep more unpaid caregivers in the workforce.

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The share of the population that is elderly is rising steeply, which will only exacerbate the situation in the coming years.