CA’s Unpaid Caregivers Contribute 4 Billion Hours

By Desert Star Staff

According to a new report, some 4.4 million family caregivers in California provide more than four billion hours of uncompensated care each year, work worth about $81 billion.

Researchers from AARP also found that those unpaid contributions have increased by $18 billion since 2019.

Donna Benton, research associate professor in the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California, said caregivers dedicate, on average, more than 18 hours a week.

“None of us anticipate how difficult it can be to work with medications, physicians and nurses -- and appointments and transportation -- and fighting social services, and understanding limited income,” Benton outlined.

California has a network of 11 taxpayer-funded Caregiver Resource Centers to ease the burden of legal services, case management, family consultation, and education programs. In addition, groups like AARP and the California Coalition on Family Caregiving advocate for the state’s caregivers in Sacramento. California lawmakers are considering two bills to improve the state’s paid family leave program. Assembly Bill 518 would allow family-of-choice caregivers, not just relatives, to take job-protected, paid time off to care for a loved one.

Benton noted it is essential for members of the LGBTQ community, who may not have children or other immediate relatives, to care for them.

“And you would want them to be there to care to help you, but they can’t because the law doesn’t allow that,” Benton explained. “We must have more choices because family structures are different. But the best care is provided by somebody who knows you and wants to be there for you.”

Advocates are also pressing for the passage of state Senate Bill 616, expanding paid sick leave from three days to seven.