Raises Approved For Santa Barbara County In-Home Caregivers
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) - A boost in pay is in the works for In-Home Supportive Service (I.H.S.S.) care providers.
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved a three year contract that will provide raises.
This approval was a long time coming.
In-home caregivers represented by United Domestic Workers campaigned for these raises in California for the past 15 years.
The union succeeded in protecting or raising caregiver wages in several counties including San Diego, Riverside, and San Luis Obispo.
“With the IHSS program, people can go get their training, go do what they need to do to be paid,” says Courtney Cazenave, who lives In Guadalupe and cares for her disabled son Edward. “I mean, and it's a great help.”
I.H.S.S. caregivers provide invaluable support to seniors and people with disabilities.
“It's so much,” says Cazenave. “Which is why the community and everybody needs to invest in these trainings because the population is just aging.”
Studies project that in the next five years, nearly 25% of Californians including many in Santa Barbara county will surpass age 60, causing a surge in demand for senior support.
Those numbers are expected to grow past 30% by 2060.
“Nobody's getting--it's not going to stop,” says Cazenave.
Local caregivers publicly expressed their gratitude for the county supervisors’ approval at last week’s meeting.
“This agreement is a step forward for providers, for care recipients and our community as a whole, and I look forward to continuing this partnership as we move ahead together,” said Olga Bravo, another Santa Barbara county resident who takes care of a disabled son, at the Board of Supervisors' meeting.
The recently approved contract will raise wages for professional providers, and widen opportunities for family caregivers.
“It's a good start,” says Cazenave. “I.H.S.S. workers need salary, they need benefits, and they need constant training.”
An estimated 30% of Californians serve as unpaid family caregivers for aging or disabled relatives.
Experts say that added stress can also take a toll on the caregiver's health.
Caregivers in California currently make $19 an hour.
In March, that bumps up to $20 an hour -- then, starting in July, wages will be $3.50 over the minimum wage or, $20.07 per hour, whichever figure is higher.
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