Motivation
“The existing long-term services and supports (LTSS) system exacerbates the pervasive racial and gender disparities in American society. It is designed to rely upon both the exploitation of a care workforce, comprised primarily of women of color, and the undervaluation of family caregivers; all while forcing people with disabilities and older adults to impoverish themselves in order to receive the services they need through Medicaid coverage.”
For this reason, the Mel King Community Fellows Program, carried out by the Just Urban Economies Program within MIT’s Community Innovators Lab (CoLab), “which seeks to accelerate social innovation in and from marginalized communities in the United States”, is currently on the mission of envisioning an equitable LTSS system that will bring justice to both caregivers and care-seekers alike. In bringing together interdisciplinary academics, researchers, and “key leaders from California, New York, Massachusetts, and national organizations committed to advancing policy and investment strategies”, the 2022-2023 Class (“Centering Equity in Long-Term Care”) aims to identify specific aspects of our current system that contribute to injustice and on such grounds, actualize a quality LTSS system that places equity at the forefront of its mission.
Summary: LTSS systems around the world offer valuable lessons for the US in years ahead. The primary aim of this work was to identify and address specific aspects of three different LTC systems that may have significant impacts on job quality for the care workforce in an attempt to inspire future policy research in this space. Specifically, we highlight key findings on care workers in Germany, Japan, and Sweden, which may be of particular interest to US policymakers, while demonstrating the relevance and importance of this kind of work in cultivating a more sustainable and equitable care system.
Through an improved LTSS system, we can improve job quality for care workers and in turn, improve the quality of the care they deliver.