Caregiving & Childcare

​Caregi​ving: ​Women provide the majority of unpaid caregiving, often resulting in financial strain, interrupted careers, and emotional stress.

The 2025 edition of Caregiving in the US, released by AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving, reveals a rapidly evolving caregiving landscape that now includes 63 million Americans, a nearly 50% increase since 2015. Key Findings:
  • Demographics: Approximately one in every four adults serves as a caregiver.
  • Intensity and Complexity: Over 40% of caregivers now provide high-intensity care. Many perform complex medical tasks like administering injections or managing equipment, yet only 22% receive training. 

  • Health and Financial Strain: One in five caregivers reports poor health; a quarter are taking on debt due to caregiving. Half report a negative financial impact due to caregiving, and one in five cannot afford basic needs like food. 

  • Workplace Impact: Seven in ten family caregivers are employed, but many face disruptions and lack access to supportive benefits, especially the 18 million hourly wage workers.​​​

Wisconsin Resources:
Wisconsin Family and Caregiver Support Alliance has an extensive website for caregiver support, including resources for unpaid family caregivers.
Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) offer comprehensive, accessible support for older adults and people with disabilities across Wisconsin.
​

Childcare: The lack of accessible and affordable childcare is a significant barrier to women's workforce participation, with a substantial number of mothers leaving their jobs, reducing their hours, or considering leaving the workforce due to childcare issues. While overall employment for women has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, childcare remains a significant challenge, contributing to women's higher likelihood of being out of the labor force for caregiving and resulting in a "motherhood penalty" in wages and career progression
.
A September 2025 ​USA Today article reported:
  • 13% of moms have already left the workforce: to save money on childcare, according to a
  • 45% of moms have considered reducing their hours or leaving work: to manage childcare costs. Mothers are twice as likely to take time off from work to handle childcare issues.
And a:
  • A 2022 First Five Years Fund report found that 46% of mothers who remained unemployed in 2021 cited childcare issues as their reason.

Wisconsin Resources:

The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families ​has a very extensive webpage regarding childcare resources in Wisconsin.​​