April 16 -- mark it in your calendars

That is the day, as the New York Times reports in "Justices to Hear Case on Wages of Home Aides," that the US Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments in a case in which the Labor Department regulations that say home care attendant are not covered by the federal minimum wage and overtime laws are challenged. The plaintiff, a 73 year old former home care attendant, states she "often worked three or four 24-hour days a week, sleeping at a client's home, while hardly ever receiving time-and-a-half pay for overtime." Unfortunately, this is not uncommon.

We have written in previous entries about the looming crisis we will be facing regarding the shortage of professional caregivers, as clearly outlined in Caregiving In America, a comprehensive report released by the ILC and the Schmieding Center for Senior Health & Education published Fall 2006. As we had mentioned before, one reason could be the low wages these caregivers receive. Home health aides barely make minimum wage--- in fact, since 1999, their " median hourly wage has fallen 4.4% after adjusting for inflation."

Tragically, the former home care attendant who spent most of her career caring for others until health conditions prevented her from continuing working, can't afford a professional caregiver herself. She doesn’t even have health insurance to pay for her thrice weekly dialysis treatment. She must rely on her son to care for her everyday.

Something must be done to change this plight of professional caregivers. We will soon be facing a shortage --- yet we are doing nothing to encourage people to become professional caregivers. Professional caregivers are currently in the position of knowing that despite spending a career caring for others, they will not be able to afford to be taken care of themselves. As it stands now, the system can't even provide them with health insurance.