Caregivers Need Paid Family Leave

Lenore from Kāne‘ohe fears that one day she must choose between caring for her mother and her job and financial security. “There will come a time when Mom needs more care and supervision and it is costly to hire help,” she told us.

Unfortunately, this is a corner that many Hawai‘i residents are backed into. That’s why AARP Hawai‘i is fighting to improve paid family leave policies in our state.

Older voters overwhelmingly support paid family leave. An AARP Hawai‘i poll found 88% of voters 50 and older support paid family leave and more than half would vote for a candidate who supported paid family leave.

The poll also found strong support for other programs to help family caregivers: 56% do not believe government is doing enough to help family caregivers; 84% support increased funding for home-and-community-based services to help families keep loved ones at home as they age; and 89% support a limited state income tax credit to offset the expenses of family caregivers.

Family caregivers are the front line of defense in keeping their older loved ones living at home — where most seniors want to be — and not in costly nursing homes.

Across Hawai‘i, unpaid family caregivers provide critical assistance to help their older parents, spouses and other loved ones live independently in their homes. Most of these caregivers also juggle full- or part-time jobs.

Paid family leave not only benefits those who take care of kūpuna, but also benefits parents caring for keiki
and a growing segment of the population who care for both children and parents. Those “sandwich generation” caregivers are under enough stress without the fear of losing their job or their wages.

An estimated 154,000 family caregivers in Hawai‘i contribute more than 144 million hours of unpaid care each year, valued at approximately $2.6 billion. They help older loved ones with medications and medical care, bathing and dressing, meals, chores and much more, saving the state and taxpayers in Medicaid expenditures if loved ones were in expensive nursing homes.

Paid family leave would also benefit employers because it increases employee loyalty and retention, and saves money by avoiding the cost of separation, recruiting, hiring and training. AARP Hawai‘i and other pro-family organizations are pushing for paid family leave and other bills to help caregivers.

If you want to lend your voice to help, contact AARP Hawai‘i Advocacy Director Audrey Suga-Nakagawa at asuganakagawa@aarp.org.

AARP HAWAI‘I (nonprofit)
1001 Bishop St., #625, Honolulu, HI 96813
808-545-6000 | hiaarp@aarp.org | aarp.org/hi
AARP is a non-partisan organization dedicated to empowering Americans 50 and older to choose how they live as they age.

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