Hawaii last week passed the Kapuna Caregivers Act, a first-of-its-kind piece of legislation that could provide the financial relief working caregivers need to care for aging loved ones without sacrificing their careers.
The legislation takes its name from the Hawaiian word used to refer to senior citizens in a way that shows reverence and respect. Our kapuna is used in much the same way many of us might say “our elders.”
“The ‘Silver Tsunami’ that we’ve been talking about for decades is finally upon us,” said Hawaii Gov. David Ige, during a ceremony to sign House Bill 607, to provide funding for the Kapuna Caregivers Program. “We knew what was coming and we finally need to step up and take action. We in our community really care about our Kapuna. I think it’s part of what makes Hawaii Hawaii.”
Our population is aging. More people are living longer than ever before, and the burden of caring for our elders—the majority of whom want to age in place—is falling heavily upon family members. There are an estimated 154,000 unpaid family caregivers in Hawaii alone, and the Kapuna Caregivers Act aims to provide the financial relief they need to stay afloat amid the Silver Tsunami.
The bill aspires to provide up to $70 per day to working family caregivers to cover transportation services, personal care, respite services and homemaker services to help facilitate senior care for their loved ones.
Across the United States, more than 40 million adults provide informal care to a relative … most of them are doing so while also working full- or part-time. According to AARP estimates, about 60 percent of these working family caregivers experience negative professional impact, including missing work, passing up projects, losing out on promotions or even leaving their jobs.
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The financial assistance available through the Kapuna Caregivers Program could be used to hire the help family caregivers need to mitigate work-life conflict. Gov. Ige described funding the program as “one more extension of what we believe is fundamentally important to ensure we can take of our Kapuna going forward.”
Watch the video below to see Ige’s full remarks.
‘A Long-Term Plan for Long-Term Care’
As we’ve written before, the dramatic demographic shifts taking place across the United States – and across the globe – are dictating the need for us to significantly change the way we provide care for our loved ones. We need a long-term plan for long-term care.
With its passage of the Kapuna Caregivers Act, Hawaii is leading the country in terms of innovative solutions to this growing public problem.
We congratulate Hawaii for taking this important, innovative action, and our friends at Caring Across Generations who have been on the front lines supporting this measure.
Thrilled @GovHawaii signed Kapuna Caregivers Bill! Breakthrough win for @CaringAcrossGen and our care infrastructure https://t.co/56akpdM0nE
— Sheila Marcelo (@smarcelo) July 7, 2017
