Care Economy and Employment

The care economy is vital to the well-being of Americans, including children and older people. The Heldrich Center currently manages several projects aimed at understanding the dynamics of care workers, who are critical to New Jersey’s and the national economy.

The Heldrich Center currently works with research sponsors to define the care economy workforce. The Center uses both publicly available labor market information data and the New Jersey Statewide Data System to examine the demographic, education, and labor market characteristics of care workers in New Jersey.

The Center also uses surveys, focus groups, and other qualitative methods to speak directly to care workers to understand the benefits and challenges of jobs in the care economy, workers’ motivations for entering and staying in the workforce, and the career pathways they intend to pursue in the care economy workforce. The goal of this body of work is to help improve workforce policies and programs that support this workforce, both in New Jersey and the nation.

Like the rest of the nation, New Jersey has a critical shortage of certified home health aides. The Heldrich Center is currently leading a project for the New Jersey Department of Human Services on expanding training opportunities for certified home health aides. The two-year project offers a scholarship program; a mentoring program for young adults, immigrants, and refugees; and a specialized training program for current home health aides working with clients with dementia and/or significant mental and behavioral health issues. To implement the programs, the Heldrich Center is collaborating with community colleges, educational institutions, nonprofits, employers, employer associations, and unions. The Center’s research and evaluation team will also evaluate the program models to identify lessons on how to better support the growth of the certified home health aide workforce.

Additionally, the Heldrich Center is a member of the Rutgers Child Care Research Collaborative. Funded by the New Jersey Department of Children and Families, the Collaborative conducts research and facilitates dialogue to develop a comprehensive understanding of New Jersey’s childcare landscape. The Heldrich Center will also conduct an evaluation of the childcare workforce in New Jersey to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the motivations for working in the childcare sector, the levels of worker job satisfaction, the barriers workers face to labor market entry, and the challenges they face on the job. This research will also seek to identify ways New Jersey can reduce barriers to entry into the childcare workforce and improve retention of qualified, skilled workers. Specifically, the project aims to develop policy recommendations for New Jersey to consider to improve the supply, preparedness, quality, and working conditions of the state’s childcare workers.

Need our expertise for a project on the care economy?

Email us at hcwd@ejb.rutgers.edu