Read on Twitter
November is #NationalFamilyCaregiversMonth. I'm going to do some irregular posts this month on this impt--and vastly unappreciated--issue, especially given the pandemic. https://nationaltoday.com/national-family-caregivers-month/
"Caregiving is a tough job. This Nov, we remember the people who lovingly give baths, clean houses, shop for, & comfort the millions of elderly & ill people who are friends and loved ones. Nov is #NationalFamilyCaregiversMonth & this yr’s theme is 'Caregiving Around the Clock.'"
"Family leave" policies that address ONLY bio or adopted children, and do NOT include elder care (or other non repro family relations), are NOT actually family leave.
They are parental leave.
Which I firmly support, but let's call these things what they really are.
They are parental leave.
Which I firmly support, but let's call these things what they really are.
And ask hard questions about why family is defined this way, what that says, and the consequential implications of these definitions and policies for 'other' family and their caregivers.
"For family caregivers, #COVID19 is a #mentalhealth crisis in the making" https://19thnews.org/2020/10/for-family-caregivers-covid-is-a-mental-health-crisis-in-the-making/
"Almost 42 million Americans, or 16% of all adults, serve as caregivers for relatives 50 or over. The majority of the people doing this unpaid, labor-intensive work are women, and, on average, they are just shy of 50 themselves..."
"An August report from the #CDC found that two-thirds of unpaid caregivers for adults had at least one mental health condition, including anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation."
"...from April through May family caregivers were more likely to experience anxiety, depression, isolation, fatigue, trouble sleeping and food insecurity — with worse outcomes for women caregivers."
"Those conditions have likely persisted since May, said Beach, one of the researchers on the survey."
LIKELY???????????????????????
LIKELY???????????????????????
"'They are being stretched thin...at the same time that those who are working may be seeing cuts in their salaries or compensation...We’re talking about the brewing of—I don’t want to call it perfect—it’s the imperfect storm. This is going to take a toll for a long, long time.'"
"Experts say the psych & financial burdens on caregivers are spotlighting shortcomings in the nation’s family caregiver infrastructure. They’re flaws that already existed, but have taken on outsize importance in the face of a pandemic."
WHAT nat'l family caregiver infrastructure
WHAT nat'l family caregiver infrastructure
"The Families First Act, which mandated that during the pandemic, companies w/ <500 employees provide paid family leave, targeted that benefit for parents who need time for children. IT OFFERS NO SUCH PROTECTION FOR PEOPLE TAKING CARE OF OLDER RELATIVES, OR ONES WHO ARE ILL."
"caregiving for someone who is older doesn’t have any definite end-date. Once the paid leave period ends, caregivers still have to find a way to navigate work and their family responsibilities."
STILL.
STILL.
"Current data tracking #mentalhealth among caregivers DOESN'T account for race. But systemic factors in terms of whom #COVID19 most affects means Black and Latinx people in many ways face a heavier burden.
Proportionally, they are already more likely to be caregivers..."
Proportionally, they are already more likely to be caregivers..."
"'I wasn’t concerned about myself — it was, ‘Who is going to take care of them, who is going to make sure they are taken care of?’ she said. 'I have never experienced anything like that.'"
It's still #NationalFamilyCaregiversMonth. Thank you, @JoeBiden, for announcing this plan to support working parents **and (other!) caregivers** in July. Let's do this! https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/us/politics/biden-workplace-childcare.html
@JoeBiden: "Professional caregivers, he added, 'are too often underpaid, unseen and undervalued.'"
"The United States is the only rich country without paid family leave and has no universal child care; research has shown that labor force participation has stalled because of that."
"Biden’s Quietly Radical Care Plan
The candidate is talking about #childcare and #eldercare in the same breath, and making them part of his economic package. Both changes are long overdue." https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/02/opinion/biden-child-care.html
The candidate is talking about #childcare and #eldercare in the same breath, and making them part of his economic package. Both changes are long overdue." https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/02/opinion/biden-child-care.html
"Mr. Biden’s plan ties together many kinds of care in one package: care for young children, care for elderly parents, and care for the sick and disabled. Each of these tends to get siloed off;..."
"... as a result, they’re fought for by disparate advocacy groups, whose efforts target varied solutions. This fragmentation often keeps these constituencies from coalescing into a single movement."
" #eldercare is especially neglected in policymaking, despite the fact that the number of Americans age 65 or older is set to grow by more than 90 percent over the next four decades."
For those in the back...
" #ELDERCARE IS ESPECIALLY NEGLECTED IN POLICYMAKING..." [emphasis mine, duh]
" #ELDERCARE IS ESPECIALLY NEGLECTED IN POLICYMAKING..." [emphasis mine, duh]
"Those who care for their spouses or parents are also less likely to work, and even those with jobs miss over a week* of work each year on average because of these responsibilities; the lost productivity costs more than $28 billion a year."
*This seems shockingly low to me, except some can "make up" wage work during nights/weekends/no vacation...
