THE AMERICAN PROSPECT: The Crisis of Care Work
The care work sector faces a severe and worsening labor shortage driven by low wages, inadequate public funding through programs like Medicaid and Medicare, and aggressive immigration enforcement. Many essential care providers—including direct care aides, nursing home staff, and hospice workers—are immigrants whose legal protections are being systematically rolled back, forcing them out of the workforce or leading to termination due to shifting immigration policies. As a result, direct care facilities, hospice programs, and independent living systems are increasingly understaffed, forcing registered nurses to absorb basic caretaking duties, creating long waiting lists, and severely limiting the availability and quality of support for the elderly and people with disabilities.
