Five Ways The Biden-Harris Administration’s New Executive Actions Support The Care Economy At A Critical Time

The White House recently announced the signing of an Executive Order by President Biden containing a broad set of actions aimed at improving the care economy. The Executive Order includes more than 50 directives to nearly every cabinet-level agency to expand access to affordable, high-quality care, and provide support for care workers and family caregivers.

The Administration’s actions come at a time where more and more employers and employees alike are calling for increased investments in making child care more affordable, and a Congressional working group currently pushing to pass paid leave legislation. From boosting productivity to increasing workplace morale, supporting caregivers is an increasing trend that has been shown to be good for business. Here are five ways that directives in the Executive Order will support the care economy.

1. Make Child Care More Accessible for Working Families: Many families have difficulty finding child care that they can afford. In 2019, over three-quarters of working families who sought child care reported having difficulty finding both accessible and affordable care. This problem only became more difficult for families after the COVID-19 pandemic. The Executive Order directs the HHS Department to consider eliminating co-payments child care programs such as the Child Care & Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program. Additionally, directs federal agencies to identify which of their grant programs can support child care for individuals working on federal projects.

2. Improving Job Quality for Care Workers: Professional caregivers are some of the lowest paid employees in the country, with child care workers earning a median wage of less than $18 an hour. Head Start and preschool teachers also lag behind the median salary of many similar professions. The Executive Order directs the HHS to take steps such as increasing the pay and benefits for Head Start teachers and staff and leveraging Medicaid funding to ensure there are enough home care workers to provide care to seniors and people with disabilities enrolled in Medicaid. The care economy is an essential component of the American workforce, and improving it starts with supporting care workers.

3. Providing Support To Working Caregivers: Millions of Americans deal with child and elder care responsibilities on top of their jobs every day. This can have negative effects on the physical and mental health of working caregivers who often do not have access to much needed support and resources. Unfortunately, it’s women who most severely feel these negative consequences, making up nearly two-thirds of family caregivers and who drop out of the workforce. The Executive Order directs HHS to consider a brand new model of elder care which includes short-term help to give a primary family caregiver a break, relieving some of the pressure faced by working caregivers and allowing them to stay in the workforce, creating a more balanced care economy.

4. Decreasing Inequities in Caregiving Employment and Access to Care: Care workers, who are often disproportionately women of color, struggle with stagnating low wages and high turnover rates. The Executive Order will direct agencies to examine resources and existing grant programs to support these care workers. Similarly, many minority groups often struggle to find available child care in their area at affordable rates. Approximately half a million American Indian and Alaska Native children potentially need child care so their parents can work, with nearly half being under the age of 5. The Executive Order directs HHS to streamline the process for tribal grantees of federal child care assistance and Head Start to apply for and construct or improve early childhood facilities. Access to care will allow more of these groups to stay in the workforce, and creates more economic empowerment.

5. Improve Access to Care for Veterans: Veterans rank consistently amongst the groups who struggle in finding access to affordable long term and home-based care, many of whom require it. The Executive Order directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to give more power to veterans in having a say in their care. The VA is also being directed to consider expanding its Veteran Directed Care program, which provides veterans with a budget to hire personal care assistance including from family members.

Both business owners and their employees know that increasing access to affordable child care and elder care is essential to creating a balanced and productive workforce. The actions taken by the Administration will provide much needed support to many working caregivers, allowing them to focus on their job and health, and less on caregiving responsibilities.