The coronavirus pandemic is revealing another problem in California and across the country – a shortage of caregivers for the elderly and disabled.
According to the Sacramento Bee, as the pandemic continued, many families struggled with a shortage in the direct care workforce following years of sub-minimum wage rates.
Joseph Macbeth, CEO of the National Association of Direct Support Professionals, told KNX 1070, the pandemic has left caregivers to make personal and financial decisions.
“‘Is this job really worth my health and exposing my family to this virus, for on the average of, I don’t know, about 11 dollars and 50 cents an hour?’” Macbeth said. “There’s a lot of that calculus going on among these workers.”
According to Turning Point Community Programs, a Northern California nonprofit that provides support for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the current labor shortage is 30% higher than anything it’s seen before.
This is nothing new as the Arc, a national organization that advocates for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities; found the annual turnover rate for direct support professionals was 45% prior to the pandemic.
Macbeth said the shortage is not a crisis, but rather a “systemic failure.” He is hopeful current legislation by President Biden can address these issues.
The legislation, proposed by the president called the “American Jobs Plan”, aims to “raise wages and benefits for essential home care workers.”