Op-Ed: New Mexico Direct Care Workforce Development
Letter Submitted by Senator Michael Padilla (D-14- Bernalillo) and Representative Sahra Maestas Barnes (R-15-Bernaillo)
Like many states, New Mexico faces some real challenges when it comes to employment. In 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, our unemployment rate rose from 5.9 percent in January to 6.8 percent by the end of the year. Tens of thousands of lost jobs were in construction and manufacturing, two industries that were previously very strong.
Job loss often brings with it a loss in population as well. If there is no work in the smaller towns, people will move to the cities to find it. But it’s not just a lack of jobs that is driving people away from the small towns where their families have lived for generations.
The fastest-growing industry in New Mexico and the second-fastest growing nationwide is direct care. This is not surprising; our changing demographics will demand it. In 2011, the first Baby Boomers aged into retirement. Demand for in-home caregiving services is growing and will only continue to grow as our nation ages.
As New Mexicans join the rest of the country in aging into retirement years, they require caregiving. Most of us prefer to age in place and remain in our own homes and communities. Yet, in some of these towns, there is no one to provide those services. The result is that we not only lose our young people to cities so they can find work. We also lose our older residents and people with disabilities to cities so they can find the caregiving services and supports that they need. Who is left in our small towns then?
We need to make a deliberate effort to stem the population flight and to use the demand for direct care as an engine for economic prosperity in our state. We need all the support we can get to create jobs if we want our kids to continue to live in the small towns and communities in which they were raised. We also need more resources to help our older residents and people with disabilities access the help and care they need to stay at home.
That’s why we’re introducing the Direct Care Workforce Act and asking our colleagues to support us in this effort. We seek to create a permanent direct care workforce commission dedicated to improving access to quality care, and building a sustainable care workforce for all New Mexicans.
No other state in the country has yet developed infrastructure like this, specifically designed to simultaneously address both workforce development and improving the access to care for our seniors and people with disabilities.
The Direct Care Worker Commission will recommend ways of ensuring quality direct care jobs as a key to fuel economic growth, especially in rural areas, as demand for direct care workers continues to grow exponentially. By promoting the direct care workforce as a pathway to a good job, we can expand opportunities for development and career advancement.
This Commission will also ensure that New Mexico is on the cutting-edge of providing communities with flexible, responsive, high-quality assistance that allows seniors and persons with disabilities to remain in the community. This bold future-minded approach will help ensure that New Mexico is the most attractive place in the country for those at retirement age
With one bill, we can improve the job landscape and help keep our seniors and people with disabilities with their families in their homes, where they want to be. Let’s help New Mexicans help themselves.
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