The CareWorks Project Launches to Reimagine Long-Term Care in Today’s Economy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New consulting studio and innovation lab launches at national aging conference to address growing strain on our country’s long-term care systems.
Atlanta, GA — A new national effort is launching to confront one of the country’s most urgent and overlooked challenges: a long-term care system that no longer works for the people who depend on it.
Today, workforce and care economy strategist Robert Espinoza announced the launch of The CareWorks Project, a consulting studio and innovation lab focused on helping leaders redesign how care works in the United States.
At its core, The CareWorks Project works with governments, foundations, nonprofits, and businesses to build better systems for care so people can live with dignity, workers can thrive in good jobs, and families can rely on support that actually works.
“This system touches all of us, but most people don’t see how broken it is until they need it,” said Espinoza.
“The CareWorks Project is about helping leaders see the full picture and build something better,” he added.
A System Under Strain
More than $250 billion is spent each year on long-term care, based on national public spending estimates.
Demand for long-term care is rising rapidly as the population ages, but the workforce and systems needed to support that demand are not keeping pace.
For millions of families, finding care still feels like navigating a maze. Where you live, what you earn, and what services are available can determine whether you receive support at all.
At the same time:
Direct care workers who provide essential care struggle with low wages and limited training and advancement
Employers face persistent workforce shortages
Families are forced into difficult financial and personal tradeoffs
Many of the policies and systems shaping caregiving today were built decades ago and no longer reflect the realities of an aging population or modern workforce.
A Different Approach to Long-Term Care
Caregiving in this country isn’t failing because people don’t care. It’s failing because the system was never built for the realities we face today.
The CareWorks Project helps leaders rethink and rebuild care systems from the ground up. Its work focuses on:
Designing workforce and caregiving strategies
Shaping public understanding of care and its value
Building initiatives, partnerships, and coalitions
Advancing policy, research, and organizational leadership
Rather than layering new ideas onto outdated systems, the initiative works to address the deeper assumptions and structures that shape how long-term care functions today.
Launch at National Aging Conference
The CareWorks Project launched in partnership with the American Society on Aging at its annual On Aging conference in Atlanta, April 20–23.
As part of the launch, The CareWorks Project released and made available to its attendees an illustrated pocket guide on the long-term care economy, The Caregiving Divide.
Espinoza also deliver a featured talk during the opening session on the Caregiving Divide™—an original framework that depicts how six interconnected layers break long-term care in this country. This framework also explains how to repair it.
“We are proud to partner with our board chair, Robert Espinoza, to launch The CareWorks Project at this year’s On Aging conference,” said Leanne Clark-Shirley, President and CEO of the American Society on Aging.
“His work reflects the kind of bold thinking needed to meet the realities of an aging America,” she added.
About Robert Espinoza
Robert Espinoza is a nationally recognized leader in workforce, aging, and care issues. He serves as the Founder and CEO of The CareWorks Project, and as a Leadership and Society Fellow at the University of Chicago.
He previously served as CEO of the National Skills Coalition and Executive Vice President of Policy at PHI, where he led its acclaimed think tank division for nearly a decade.
He has held senior fellow roles at the Brookings Institution and the National Academy of Social Insurance, hosts the award-winning podcast A Question of Care, and writes for Care, Actually—a popular Substack on care, democracy, and society.
About The CareWorks Project
The CareWorks Project is an innovation lab and consulting studio helping leaders reimagine care in today’s economy.
It partners across sectors to strengthen long-term care systems so people can live with dignity, workers can thrive, and communities can rely on care that works.
“The future of care will not be built by any one sector, but by weaving together public will, private capital, and on-the-ground insight—without losing sight of our north star: long-term care people can count on,” said Espinoza.
Learn more at careworksproject.co.
Media Contact
Robert Espinoza
(732) 399-9643
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