III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 153 

Recognizing the roles and the contributions of care workers in the United 

States and expressing support for the designation of April 2023 as 

‘‘Care Worker Recognition Month’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2023 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. KAINE, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. 

PADILLA, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. FETTERMAN, Ms. SMITH, Ms. WARREN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. LUJA ́N, and Mr. BROWN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the roles and the contributions of care workers 

in the United States and expressing support for the 

designation of April 2023 as ‘‘Care Worker Recognition 

Month’’. 

Whereas there is a growing need on the part of families for 

care, from childcare to support for older adults and individuals with chronic illnesses or disabilities; 

Whereas childcare workers provide the essential service of 

taking care of a child’s basic needs while fostering a 

child’s early emotional, social, and intellectual development; 


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•SRES 153 IS 

Whereas direct care workers allow older adults, individuals 

with disabilities, and children with complex medical needs 

to remain in their homes and communities and live 

healthy, independent, and dignified lives by providing 

support with critical daily tasks, such as eating, dressing, 

and personal hygiene; 

Whereas investment in care workers is vital to labor force 

participation and a strong economy; 

Whereas care workers give family caregivers the assurance 

that their homes are being looked after and that their 

children, parents, and loved ones are in the hands of professionals; 

Whereas care work is an industry that particularly benefits 

women, who account for the majority of the care workforce, and that allows other women to participate in the 

labor force; 

Whereas access to childcare and home and community-based 

care helps families boost their economic stability by working increased hours, taking fewer days off, and pursuing 

opportunities to advance their education and careers; 

Whereas, when families are forced out of the labor market 

due to caregiving responsibilities, they will experience diminished income, access to benefits, and retirement savings over their lifetimes; 

Whereas children who receive high-quality childcare are 

healthier, more likely to graduate from college, and more 

likely to have higher incomes; 

Whereas substandard wages and poor working conditions 

continue to fuel shortages and turnover in the care industry; 


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•SRES 153 IS 

Whereas the median annual earnings for full-time childcare 

workers and home care workers is less than $30,000, 

and, as a result, nearly 1 in 6 home care workers lives 

in poverty, and 1 in 3 childcare workers is experiencing 

food insecurity; 

Whereas COVID–19 both heightened the existing challenges 

for, and placed new stress on, care workers, leading to 

burnout and exhaustion; 

Whereas the demand for home and community-based care 

services is growing, because the population of adults who 

are 65 and older will nearly double by 2050, and 10,000 

individuals are aging into retirement per day; 

Whereas 88 percent of aging adults prefer to receive longterm supports and services in home and community-based 

settings; 

Whereas, across the United States, approximately 656,000 

aging individuals and individuals with disabilities are on 

waiting lists to access home and community-based services through Medicaid; 

Whereas home care jobs are the jobs of the future, because 

the home care workforce is projected to add more new 

jobs than any other single occupation in the United 

States and will add more than 1,000,000 new jobs from 

2020 to 2030; 

Whereas care jobs are the jobs of the future, because these 

jobs cannot be automated or outsourced; 

Whereas turnover and shortages in the care workforce are 

costly to the economy, because they lead to higher costs 

for taxpayer-supported programs and industry employers 

that need to keep hiring and training new workers; 


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•SRES 153 IS 

Whereas large-scale labor force exits and work disruptions 

due to childcare needs annually cost the economy an estimated $122,000,000,000 in lost income, productivity, 

and tax revenue; 

Whereas investing in care infrastructure will lead to fewer 

staffing shortages and higher productivity, while ensuring 

a more robust and stable pipeline of workers from which 

businesses can recruit; and 

Whereas investing in direct care infrastructure specifically 

will result in savings, because it costs $26,000 per individual per year to receive care in a home in contrast to 

$90,000 per individual per year in a congregate setting: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) expresses support for the designation of 

3 April 2023 as ‘‘Care Worker Recognition Month’’; 

4 (2) recognizes the roles and the contributions of 

5 home care workers in the United States in providing 

6 the care necessary for older adults and disabled indi7 viduals to live independently and in dignity; 

8 (3) recognizes the role and contributions of 

9 early educators and childcare workers in the United 

10 States in providing a nurturing, enriching environ11 ment for children to grow and learn; 

12 (4) recognizes the roles and the contributions of 

13 care workers in the United States in enabling care14 givers the opportunity to pursue educational attain15 ment and to remain in or reenter the workforce; 


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•SRES 153 IS 

1 (5) recognizes that the care industry is crucial 

2 to economic growth; and 

3 (6) thanks and promotes the care worker pro4 fession. 

Æ 


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