San Diego, California – This week, Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (CA-53) visited and toured care facilities in San Diego and Chula Vista to highlight the importance of the care economy and hear about the needs and experiences of local care workers.

On Wednesday, Congresswoman Sara Jacobs visited St. Paul’s Plaza, a local senior center in Chula Vista, met with administrators, and toured their memory care center. On Thursday, she toured the Copley-Price YMCA Early Childhood Education Center and met with a group of local child care providers.

“Care workers are the heart of our communities. That was true before COVID-19, and it’s true now as we focus on an equitable recovery. We need to invest in our care economy, from child care to elder care, and make sure that care workers are paid a living wage and have opportunities for advancement,” said Congresswoman Sara Jacobs. “I am proud to be fighting in Congress to ensure fair wages for their essential work, and I’m looking forward to continuing this work to make sure we build back equitably from the pandemic.”

Since being elected, Congresswoman Jacobs has made supporting the care economy a top priority, including fighting for universal child care alongside her colleagues in Congress.

She also fought for the $39 billion in additional funding for child care that was included in the American Rescue Plan. This included an additional $15 billion for Child Care and Development Block Grants, which are meant to subsidize tuition for low-income parents, and $24 billion for a child care stabilization fund, $2.3 billion of which is allocated for California. Providers can access this funding to help cover costs associated with the pandemic, including personnel, facility, rent, equipment, PPE, and more.

The American Rescue Plan also included increased funding for the Older Americans Act, which supports programs like Meals on Wheels. The American Families Plan, announced by the White House in March, would expand access to long-term senior care by funding expanded Medicaid coverage. The American Families Plan also supports higher wages and improved benefits for care workers.