Demographic shifts and a shortage in the healthcare workforce to impact caregiving
By 2032 there will be more people age 65 and older than children younger than 15 in California. This demographic shift will have an acute impact;, given California’s population of 39.6 million people, by 2030 19% of the state’s residents will be older adults. There is already a shortage of caregivers and the state estimates that an additional 200,000 home care workers will be needed by 2024 to keep pace with the growing demand. Governor Newsom is responding to the issue by convening a Stakeholders Advisory Committee tasked with developing a Master Plan on Aging for California -- due in October 2020 -- to address California's nursing shortage, the patchwork of senior services, the social isolation seniors often experience, and the “demand for In-Home Supportive Services that far outpaces its capacity.”