Proposal: Nonmedical care, assistance for seniors through higher ed

“We feel like this is an idea, when you talk about it with normal people, everybody says this makes so much sense,” Carrie Lukas, CEO of Independent Women’s Voice, told The Center Square on Monday. “We know people would benefit. It should be easy, yet there’s a lot to think through. There has to be a way to protect seniors and caregivers. It touches a lot of issue areas. We’ve spent a lot of time to make this work.”

In the au pair program, a young person from another country comes to America, cares for children or does domestic work for a family, and in return there is room and board and an opportunity to learn the family’s language. Beth Perlato, senior legal counsel at the Independent Women’s Law Center, on Monday told The Center Square her organization learned several years ago about 1,500 J-6 visas were not being used through the au pair program.

“We started exploring ideas for senior care,” Perlato said. “We’ve talked to the Department of State. We took the idea, modeled after it, and want to do it with senior care.”

The Biden administration, Heather Madden told The Center Square, wanted to do away with the au pair program. Madden is vice president for policy initiatives at Independent Women’s Voice. In 2013, the Obama administration’s Department of Labor revised the Fair Labor Standards Act, removing home health aides and personal care assistants from the previous “companionship exemption.

The latter meant third-party home care staffing agencies have to pay minimum wage and overtime. The U.S. Supreme Court allowed it to stand in 2015.

Translated, home care for seniors can be costly. McKnight’s Senior Living,

an award-winning national media brand that provides news, perspective, and analysis for executives, owners, and operators in the senior living industry, estimates only 3.7% of adults ages 65-74 need help with activities of daily living. It goes to 8.7% for ages 75-84.

Independent Women’s proposal, say its leaders, is not hands-on medical care. Rather, it’s light housekeeping, keeping up with appointments, running errands, and sometimes just simply companionship.

“The American Caregivers Act creates a rare win-win: students’ gain access to housing, education, and real-world skills while older Americans gain the companionship and support, they need to remain in their homes,” said Jordanne Kemper, vice president of Independent Women’s Voice. “We look forward to partnering with state legislatures across the country to make this opportunity a reality for more families and students.”

The quest is to have not only juniors and seniors in college, but also those who have a major that is relevant. The idea would be credit hours could be gained.

“A lot of people saw it as upper class, and it’s not,” Madden said of the au pair program. “In most cases, it’s far more affordable for childcare. Whenever we pushed back against that, it helped lead the charge and getting voices out there, urging government not to take away that option. Why can’t it be an option for senior care?

“We started looking into this, wondered why there were not more options for in-home care for seniors. They want to age in their homes as long as possible. Why can’t we do something for American workers? There’s a modest stipend, room and board.”

Perlato said Independent Women wants a model that is not government-funded, that doesn’t cost taxpayers and gives families more options.

“We have to look at states where there’s college, possibly a housing shortage, the programs being offered, if there’s elder care, gerontology, programs of study that fit with this framework,” Perlato said. “We had to look at a lot of things.

“Kids can get six, eight, 12 credit hours for doing whatever tasks to help seniors living alone. Most seniors, if they live alone, they have an extra room. We think it can work. There’s a lot of questions. Seniors are a most vulnerable population, so what are the safety features to protect them?”

She said going through higher education creates the accountability level.

“A student has to be matriculated,” she said. “We’re only opening it to juniors and seniors, have to be recommended, have a professor who is overseeing it. This is more like an externship than an internship. We think states are interested, and that we could have colleges that are interested.”

And Wednesday’s announcement is likely to adapt to future conversations.

“It’s a working draft,” Madden said. “We’re very open to helpful feedback.

“This would not create a new government program or spending. It’s budget neutral. All costs are borne by the households.”

An annual cost is estimated at $10,000.

“There is not an employee employer relationship, like a visiting angel,” Perlato added. “We keep it education, which is why it is college-based. This enables us to not have to worry with labor laws. We keep it education and learning.”

The four states chosen initially have nothing to do with political partisanship. It does have to do with past successful relationships for Independent Women.

“If seniors have space, need companionship, and young people need room and board and can provide that care, that’s where we’re trying to match,” Lukas said.