BILL NUMBER: S5980

SPONSOR: RYAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act requiring a multi-agency study on the issues impacting the
continuum of caregiving in the state of New York

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill will direct a multi-agency study to be conducted by the
commissioners of the Department of Health, the Office for the Aging, the
Office of Children and Family Services, the Office for People with
Developmental Disabilities, the Office of Mental Health, and the Depart-
ment of Labor to identify the various issues impacting formal and
informal caregivers to ultimately determine the best approach to address
the ever-increasing statewide continuum of caregiving workforce short-
age.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 directs the commissioners of the Department of Health, the
              

Office for the Aging, the Office of Children and Family Services, the
Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, the Office of Mental
Health, and the Department of Labor to conduct a study regarding the
issues impacting the continuum of caregiving workforce across the State
of New York.

Section 2 specifies that within one year of the effective date of this
act, the Commissioners shall submit a report of their findings, conclu-
sions and recommendations to the Governor, the Temporary President of
the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly.

Section 3 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

New York State continues to face an ever-increasing continuum of care-
giving workforce shortage. Caregiving, paid and unpaid, is the infras-
tructure that supports our families. The need runs across the life-cycle
from childcare (which has come to include school age children learning
remotely) to long term care for children and adults with special needs
to military spouses suddenly tasked with caring for an injured veteran
to attending to aging parents and eldercare.

Thus far, much of the actions taken to address the critical issues
surrounding the caregiving infrastructure, including the workforce shor-
tage, have been piecemeal. These individual and specifically targeted
"band aids" can no longer be relied on to respond to the needs of this
vital industry and the individuals, children and families that need
trained, qualified and appropriately paid people to provide their care.

While the need from childcare to eldercare has made headlines throughout
the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become especially acute in more rural
areas where greater distances, smaller workforce and poor transportation
options make the challenges even greater. Without a thoughtful multi-
pronged plan that breaks down the funding and programmatic silos of the
many state agencies that are involved in order to meet the caregiving
crisis head-on, the workforce shortage will worsen and further inflame
the existing battles over small pools of state money that pit childcare
against long term care against the development disabilities communities,
while still not addressing the needs of huge numbers of New York fami-
lies.

This study will require the review of the current workforce of paid
caregivers, an estimate of the numbers of informal caregivers, an
assessment of the need for caregivers to meet the needs of residents of
the various regions of the state at the present time and over the next
ten years, a review of the adequacy of compensation for paid caregivers,
a review of the current state programs available to support training,
recruitment and retention of paid caregivers, programs to support unpaid
caregivers, workforce issues related to the availability and cost of
caregiver services, and issues related to licensing, worker protections,
protections for persons in need of caregiving services, and opportu-
nities for the consolidation of duplicative programs, coordination of
programs administered by various government agencies, and development or
expansion of programs to support formal and informal caregivers.

The results and recommendations of the study will allow New York State
to move forward with a holistic approach to meet the continuum of care-
giving needs and address workforce shortages statewide.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-2022: A.6202-A/S.5734-A.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.