June 2026
From the Coordinator’s Desk
As we move into summer, two major developments have the potential to shape the future of long-term care in the District for years to come: the conclusion of a historic local election and the completion of another challenging budget season at the DC Council.
Taken together, these events remind us that the future of long-term care is not determined solely by healthcare policy. It is shaped by decisions about education, workforce development, housing, economic opportunity, transportation, and family supports. In many ways, the choices made today will determine whether the District is prepared to meet the needs of an aging population tomorrow.
The recent election represents one of the most significant political transitions in decades. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George emerged as the clear winner in the mayoral contest, carrying seven of the District’s eight wards and building a coalition that included organized labor, community advocates, and residents seeking a new direction for the city. The election also brought victory to Aparna Raj in a competitive council race. Both Lewis George and Raj identify as Democratic Socialists, signaling what many observers view as a growing interest among voters in policies that emphasize workers, public investment, economic opportunity, housing affordability, and expanded public services.
For those of us engaged in aging, disability services, and long-term care, the election results are noteworthy not because of political labels, but because of the issues that shaped the campaigns. Both Lewis George and Raj spoke frequently about strengthening the workforce, supporting working families, expanding economic opportunity, and creating pathways to good jobs. These priorities are directly connected to many of the challenges facing the direct care workforce that supports older adults and people with disabilities throughout the District.
The Coalition was proud to partner with Iona Senior Services in hosting a mayoral forum focused on aging, caregiving, disability services, and long-term care. The forum demonstrated that these issues are increasingly important to District residents. Nearly one-quarter of the District’s population is now age 60 or older, and the demand for long-term services and supports will continue to grow in the years ahead.
At the same time, the DC Council has been completing work on the Fiscal Year 2027 budget. Despite significant fiscal pressures, Councilmembers worked to restore more than $400 million in proposed cuts and protect a number of programs that are essential to the health and economic stability of District residents.
Much of the public discussion focused on childcare, education, housing, and economic development. Those investments are important in their own right, but they also tell another story—one that has profound implications for the future of long-term care.
Long-term care does not begin when someone turns 80.
It begins with workforce development, family stability, education, and economic opportunity.
The workers who will care for older adults and people with disabilities ten or twenty years from now are sitting in classrooms today. They are parents who need affordable childcare in order to remain employed. They are adults pursuing literacy training, workforce credentials, and new career pathways. They are students considering healthcare careers for the first time.
That is why several of the Council’s budget decisions deserve our attention.
The Council restored funding for the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund and childcare subsidies that help thousands of parents remain in the workforce. For healthcare employers struggling with staffing shortages, these investments help remove barriers that often prevent individuals from entering and remaining in direct care professions.
The budget also expands career and technical education opportunities and includes support for training District high school students as Certified Nurse Aides. While modest in scale, these investments reflect exactly the type of workforce pipeline strategy that our Coalition has advocated for many years. If we are serious about addressing workforce shortages, we must begin introducing young people to caregiving careers long before employers are competing for a shrinking labor pool.
Additional investments in adult literacy, workforce training, and post-secondary education create opportunities for residents to gain the skills necessary to enter healthcare occupations and advance along career pathways. These are not simply education initiatives. They are workforce initiatives—and ultimately long-term care initiatives.
Yet this budget cycle also serves as a reminder that progress is never guaranteed. District leaders were forced to make difficult choices, and concerns remain about future fiscal pressures, federal funding uncertainty, and the possibility of more difficult budget decisions in the years ahead.
For the DC Coalition on Long Term Care, this moment presents both opportunity and responsibility.
A new Mayor and a changing Council provide an opportunity to educate a new generation of policymakers about the needs of older adults, people with disabilities, family caregivers, and the direct care workforce. New leaders bring new ideas, new energy, and the possibility of building stronger partnerships across agencies, providers, advocates, educational institutions, labor organizations, and community stakeholders.
We look forward to working with Mayor-elect Lewis George, newly elected Councilmembers, returning members of the Council, and agency leaders throughout the District government. We hope to build upon the progress already underway to strengthen workforce pathways, improve training and certification systems, expand career opportunities, support family caregivers, and ensure that every resident has access to quality long-term services and supports.
One of the most important lessons from both this election and this budget season is that the future of long-term care will not be determined solely in healthcare agencies or aging programs. It will also be shaped by decisions about education, workforce development, economic opportunity, housing, transportation, and family supports.
Our task is to help the District see those connections and build a system that prepares today’s students to become tomorrow’s caregivers.
The care workforce of tomorrow is being shaped by the decisions being made today.
Thank you for your continued partnership, advocacy, and commitment to building a stronger long-term care system for all District residents.
Neil Richardson
Coordinator
DC Coalition on Long Term Care