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Advocacy in Action: The Moral Imperative of Care — Why a Practical Solution Is More Powerful Than a Prayer

  • Writer: Mark Fukae
    Mark Fukae
  • Sep 20, 2025
  • 4 min read
Advocacy in Action: Beyond good intentions, building real solutions. The Colorado CARE Act addresses systemic gaps to support family caregivers.
Advocacy in Action: Beyond good intentions, building real solutions. The Colorado CARE Act addresses systemic gaps to support family caregivers.

A Call to Action: Why Caregiving Is an Equity Issue — And What We’re Doing About It


By Mark Fukae - Director of Advocacy, Professionals Who Care | CASI, Founder


As a society, we often praise caregivers with heartfelt words and prayers, calling them heroes and angels. This sentiment is well‑intentioned, but for millions of families, good intentions simply aren’t enough.


My own family recently faced this reality. My wife has known for years that her organization would eventually close. She remains employed there today, but when that transition comes, she has already chosen her next role: providing full‑time, in‑home care for my mother. It’s a role she embraces with love - but it will be largely unpaid and will significantly reduce our household income.


In making this decision, we quickly learned a frustrating truth: the system is designed to make it nearly impossible for her to be compensated for her work.


This is not a unique story. It is a story of a silent, systemic failure. It’s why we at Professionals Who Care believe that caregiving is, at its core, an equity issue - and why we’re taking a stand.


From Unseen to Uncompensated: The Barriers to Fair Care


For millions of family caregivers, the path to receiving compensation for their vital work is fraught with bureaucratic barriers. The most common hurdle is the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) credential. While professional certification is crucial for some roles, the CNA process - requiring 80+ hours of coursework, fees, and testing - acts as a prohibitive barrier for many family members who already possess the necessary knowledge and experience (PASCO 2025).


This isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a profound inequity. It disproportionately affects low‑income families and communities of color, who often have the least access to the resources and formal education required to navigate these requirements (Center for Retirement Research 2025; ASPE 2023).


The result? Existing wealth gaps widen, and caregivers are forced to choose between a steady paycheck and caring for a loved one. Nationally, unpaid caregiving represents $600 billion in uncompensated labor annually (AARP & NAC 2025), with women - especially women of color - bearing the greatest economic penalty (U.S. DOL 2023; ABA 2023).


The Solution: A Proactive, Not Reactive, Approach


We cannot solve a systemic problem with individual acts of charity. This is a job for policy.

That’s why we at Professionals Who Care have spearheaded the Colorado CARE Act -legislation designed to dismantle outdated systems that devalue and disempower caregivers.


The Colorado CARE Act addresses this issue head‑on by:

  • Creating a streamlined, competency‑based certification pathway for family caregivers, allowing them to be compensated without enduring the time and cost of a traditional CNA course.

  • Integrating family caregivers into existing home care programs, recognizing the invaluable work they already perform.

  • Ensuring revenue neutrality by using existing state resources, avoiding new taxes or fees, while reducing institutional care costs and increasing state tax revenues (Professionals Who Care 2025).


This is more than a procedural change - it’s a philosophical shift that recognizes caregiving as skilled, valuable labor.


Why This Is an Equity Imperative


Caregiving inequities are not random - they are patterned and predictable:

  • Racial & Ethnic Disparities: Black, Hispanic, and Asian American caregivers are more likely to provide high‑intensity care and experience worse health outcomes, yet have less access to paid support (Whitney et al. 2023; ASPE 2023).

  • Gendered Burden: Women provide two‑thirds of all unpaid care, losing an average of $295,000 in lifetime earnings due to reduced work hours or workforce exit (U.S. DOL 2023).

  • Socioeconomic Barriers: Low‑income caregivers often provide the most hours of care but have the least access to respite, training, or financial compensation (AARP & NAC 2025).


By removing unnecessary credentialing barriers and embedding equity into policy, the Colorado CARE Act directly addresses these disparities.


Read More and Join the Movement

This is a moral imperative - and it’s why we’re taking action. We’re working to transform a system built on good intentions into one built on real, tangible support.


I’ve written a full article diving into the details of this policy and the data behind why this is an equity issue.📖 Read the full piece here: The Revenue Neutral Caregiver


Let’s work together to build an economy that truly values the work of caring - and a society where action is more impactful than a prayer.


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