JULY SPECIAL FEATURE

 “A majority of Americans cannot afford to take care of their families. They see it as their responsibility, and often their failure. To get by, they cobble together solutions, even quitting their jobs to look after a loved one – a newborn, a parent, a friend, or an in-law. Things are getting worse as baby boomers age into their 70s. We are facing a social crisis as America’s piecemeal and expensive care infrastructure, created a half century ago, has reached a breaking point.” - Al Jen Poor and Dr. Benjamin W. Veghte, Architects of Universal Family Care, New York Times

As caregiving in America faces the twin pressures of an aging baby boomer generation and rising life expectancy, the United States’ long-term care system threatens to tip into crisis.

• According to a recent Rand Report, it is estimated that between 53 million to 105.6 million U.S. adults provide unpaid caregiving for family and friends.  
• An estimated 5.4 million children and adolescents in the U.S. are direct caregivers for family members. 
• There are five million paid caregivers nationally in the U.S., as of 2023. 
• The value of the care provided by unpaid family caregivers across the U.S. was $600 billion in 2021, according to a 2023 AARP report.
• Median annual earnings for direct care workers in the U.S. are $23,688.13, as of a 2023 report.

The PBS documentary film “Caregiving” personalizes this urgent national issue through stories from caregivers and interviews with experts as they fight to give caregivers the security and support they provide for so many others. The project also includes a robust national engagement campaign.

The feature-length documentary and accompanying short films will examine caregiving from multiple perspectives:

• the creation and evolution of the care system;
• the social dynamics that shape our approach to caregiving today and the future possibilities;
• the lives of caregivers and their relationships with those in their care;
• the interpersonal and economic pressures faced by caregivers; and
• the broader societal context in which caregiving operates on the margins yet affects everyone.

“Caregiving” can be viewed at https://www.pbs.org/video/caregiving/.

If you are a family member looking for local resources in Champaign, Clark, Coles, Cumberland, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Iroquois, Livingston, Macon, McLean, Moultrie, Piatt, Shelby or Vermilion counties, contact East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging at (800) 888-4456.