What is Direct Care?

NMCC’s Primary Goal is to Improve the Quality of Life for Direct Caregivers

Paid Caregivers or Direct Support Staff

The most recent data tell us there are more than 36,000 home care and nursing assistants in the New Mexico labor force today. The largest share (31,090) of employment is as home health aides. The 36,000 home care and nursing assistant workers do not even count the many more in New Mexico who work as personal care assistants, homemakers (a Department of Health designation), and allied health assistants. All told, when these additional workers are counted, there are more than 62,000 employed as home care workers in New Mexico.

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Family Caregivers – Paid or Unpaid

The size of New Mexico’s family caregiver population is staggering. Annually, 419,000 New Mexicans provide unpaid care to adults with limitations in daily activities, such as mobility, self-feeding, and dressing, with 287,000 providing care at any given time during the year. Although these caregivers include friends and neighbors as well as relatives, all people providing unpaid care will be referred to as “family caregivers” for this report. On average, New Mexico’s family caregivers provide 18.4 hours of care per week. The total economic value of this care is estimated to be $3.1 billion annually.

Nationally, family caregivers provide 80 percent of long-term care. Trends indicate that New Mexico’s demand for family caregivers will continue to increase. The average age of care recipients was 80 in a 2014 New Mexico survey funded by AARP. The state’s 80 and older population is projected to grow 80.5 percent between 2015 and 2030.With fast growth in the segment of the population most in need of care, demand for family caregivers is likely to rise.

As the number of Americans requiring care climbs through 2050, the ratio of people available to care for them declines. The typical caregiver is a 46-year-old woman providing care to her mother. Describing the looming challenge of caring for the United States baby boomers as they age, AARP’s public policy researchers define the caregiver support ratio as “the number of potential caregivers between the ages of 45-64 for each person aged 80 and older.” This ratio stood at seven potential caregivers for every person 80 or older in 2010 but will decline to 4 to 1 by 2030 and 3 to 1 in 2050. Women still do most of the family caregiving. Among all family caregivers, 60 percent are female.

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Additional Resources: Articles and Publications (June 2024)

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