About the Home Care Caucus

Mission Statement

The mission of the New Jersey Legislative Home Care Caucus is to collaborate with a bipartisan representation of members from both chambers (and their staff) on issues related to home health care services. Engaging a diverse group of stakeholders as a resource, the caucus will identify opportunities to support home care services for children, adults, and seniors across the state who rely on access to home care services to live comfortably and safely within their own homes.

Vision

The NJ Legislative Home Care Caucus will target policies to support families while educating lawmakers about the nation’s caregiving crisis.

The purpose of the caucus is to raise awareness about the challenges that family caregivers face and to bring attention to the issues caregivers of all backgrounds face. According to a news release from Dingell, almost 20 million US adults require assistance with activities of daily living due to physical, cognitive, developmental or behavioral conditions, and 53 million family caregivers contribute $600 billion worth of care annually.

The caucus plans to interact with a broad array of stakeholders, including older adults, service providers, paid caregivers, employers, people with disabilities, the long-term care insurance industry, private and public payers, government officials, researchers and technology vendors.

2024 Goals/Initiatives

Access

Identifying challenges that limit access to home care services.

Workforce

Workforce issues for home care aides, nurses, and other staff (i.e., shortage, retention, career ladders)

Financial

Financial support tied to quality and outcomes for all aspects of home care services, including educational opportunities.

Data

Data collection and interpretation including, but not limited to, population (and location) of consumers vs. worker shortage, transportation issues, etc.

Awareness

Increasing awareness of home care services and the communities that rely on such services.

Affordability

Affordability issue for individuals not eligible for the Safety Net programs due to income limits such as Medicaid, Medicare, VA, etc. This would include Private Pay.

Regulatory