City governments spend a lot of time building and maintaining infrastructure of various kinds. And they’re the level of government that is left on the hook when infrastructure fails. During the pandemic, it became clear to communities beyond the usual suspects that our country’s at best minimalist and piecemeal care infrastructure was severely underfunded, where it existed at all. When children, the elderly, and those that need assistance for a variety of reasons don’t have access to care, women suffer the most, but eventually we are all impacted.
As the public conversation about care work has mostly focused myopically on simply the philosophical question of whether care work is or should be considered infrastructure, in this moment, cities have the opportunity to bypass the philosophical and do what they do so well: Fix. The. Problem.
As American women, especially Black women, have lost the lion’s share of the jobs lost in the maelstrom of the last year, targeted solutions will be needed to ensure that women and the families they support don’t fall through the cracks – and not just because it’s the right thing to do (it is!) but also because when women lose out in the economy, families and communities lose as well.
I’ve written before about the policy and program opportunities that cities have to address head on the economic inequalities that have been exacerbated by the pandemic, including paid family leave and minimum wage increases and child and elder care infrastructure. These policies come with a wide array of price tags, from free to expensive (although I’d argue nearly every one of them saves more taxpayer dollars than they cost.)
Which leads me to the even bigger reason to harness the creative problem solving of cities on these issues: the American Rescue Plan. With so many cities of every size getting sizable funding from the federal government, cities can set up significant investments in long term solutions that city leaders have been dreaming of, that can increase equity while stabilizing and improving local economies. (For even bigger investments, partner with your county and/or your school districts to achieve shared goals. Many of them will be receiving ARP funds as well!)
Possibilities include:
- directly funding child and elder care facilities and providers, to increase the pay of care providers and to increase access to quality care
- setting up revolving funds and incentives to support community employers who provide family and sick leave
- creating workforce resources to support our new understanding of “front line work”, especially retail and gig workers and their employers and “mom and pop” businesses.
- instituting “leave banks” that can take donations and extend paid leave for those without
There’s more, as always. Contact us to brainstorm what might be most helpful in your community and to get technical assistance.