Proposal Presented for the Master Plan for Aging (#43)
Disclaimer
Throughout the MPA process, more than 100 proposals were developed thanks in particular to thousands of hours of work by external stakeholders and members of the public. These proposals and the MPA Council commentary are being submitted to the Governor and shared with policymakers and the public to inform policymaking. These proposals represent a starting point for discussion. Further discussion is necessary between relevant state agencies and stakeholders to both refine these proposals and assess which may be appropriate to adopt and implement.
Summary
Improve education of informal caregivers in the workplace by requiring workplace training on caregiving and caregiver rights. This proposal also includes recommendations to produce a model working caregiver education training program.
Justification
More than half of the U.S. labor force has caregiving responsibilities outside of work, and many do not have access to necessary resources or knowledge to inform them of their rights as a caregiver. Educating caregivers, particularly the "sandwich generation," or those who care for both their children and older loved ones and report higher levels of emotional and financial strain, would allow them to better serve their loved ones and improve overall wellbeing and service attainment for both parties.
Full Proposal
More than half of the U.S. labor force has caregiving responsibilities outside of work and according to federal data, some 37 million Americans can spend an average of nearly four hours a day caring for an older adult. According to AARP, workers in the sandwich generation report even higher levels of emotional and financial strain.
Throughout NYS, there is a lack of services and supports for historically marginalized and underserved communities, disproportionally affected communities, including rural communities, youth caregivers, kinship caregivers, caregivers in the sandwich generation who are caring for an older adult, loved one, and/or child, individuals with substance use disorder, behavioral health issues, serious and persistent mental illness, caregivers caring for individuals with developmental disabilities, individuals that cannot qualify for Medicaid, caregivers who are partners but don’t have legal status as a spouse, and all New Yorkers (via state budgets, tax revenues, and community impacts).
- Amend the Labor Law to require workplace training on caregiving, caregiver rights and resources, stress reduction, and other topics, as well as require businesses to post information on caregiver rights and access to resources.
- Consult with the Division of Human Rights and produce a model working caregiver education training program to inform working informal caregivers of their rights and resources in the workplace.
- Require every employer in the state with more than fifty full-time equivalent employees to display the information created pursuant to this proposal in a conspicuous place accessible to employees in the workplace. The information will be translated and made available in the top 12 most commonly spoken non-English languages in NYS, as required per state language access law, § 202-a. Language translation services.
MPA Council Commentary
Components 1 and 3 of this proposal are categorized as long-term due to administrative complexity and necessary statutory changes. Elements of component 1 are currently being implemented by the NYSOFA and DOL through a public-private partnership to survey businesses and employees and provide a guide to best practices for supporting working caregivers. Component 2 of this proposal is categorized as near-term. Proposed first steps for implementation could include an expansion of the existing employee caregiver guide and a partnership between applicable state agency partners. The State offers many benefits for working caregivers that could be promoted through this initiative, including Family Care, a program through which eligible employees can use Paid Family Leave, in certain situations, to care for a close family member such as a parent or grandparent. Proposed metrics for evaluating implementation success could include improved knowledge of caregiver resources.