# 119-s-4889: Supporting Our Direct Care Workforce and Family Caregivers Act

119-s-4889, Supporting Our Direct Care Workforce and Family Caregivers Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA] (D-VA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-06).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4889
- As of: 2026-08-06
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4889
- Congress: 119
- Title: Supporting Our Direct Care Workforce and Family Caregivers Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-06-24
- Sponsor: Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA] (D-VA)
- Cosponsors: 8
- Policy area: Social Welfare
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-06

## Summary

**Builds and professionalizes the direct care workforce.** This bill would create a national technical assistance center and a competitive grant program to recruit, train, retain, and advance direct care workers while supporting family caregivers. - Families and family caregivers: Funds projects and training to integrate family caregivers as essential team members and to give them education and support services. - Direct care workers: Requires career pathways and advancement for workers, with not less than 30 percent of projects offering advancement opportunities, wage progression for on-the-job training tied to federal or state minimums, and supportive services like transportation and child care. - Older adults and people with disabilities: Seeks to improve care quality by standardizing curricula, aligning with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services core competencies, and adding anti-abuse protections. *Would increase federal spending by authorizing $1.0 billion in grants for FY2027 and $2.0 million per year for the technical assistance center for FY2027–FY2031, with authorized funds available through FY2036.*

## Cosponsors (8)

- Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] (D-IL), 2026-06-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM] (D-NM), 2026-06-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN), 2026-06-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (D-NY), 2026-06-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2026-06-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hassan, Margaret Wood [D-NH] (D-NH), 2026-06-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI] (D-RI), 2026-06-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT), 2026-08-04T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- National center and funding: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would create a national technical assistance center to set training standards, career ladders, recruitment strategies, and data approaches for direct care workers and family caregivers. The bill would authorize $2 million a year for the center for each fiscal year 2027 through…
- Grants to build the care workforce: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would require HHS to award competitive grants within 12 months to fund projects for direct care workers, managers, self-directed care professionals, and family caregivers. Grants could cover multiple project types and at least 30% of funded projects would need to create career…
- Training plans and wage progression: benefit, medium. If enacted, grant applicants would have to submit detailed project plans. Plans must show demographics, unmet need, an advisory committee with stakeholders, and labor market data. Training must use CMS core competencies and teach recipient rights, abuse reporting, and culturally and disability-comp…
- Reporting, evaluation, and oversight: benefit, medium. If enacted, grant recipients would have to submit annual data and cooperate with evaluations. The Secretary would hire an independent evaluator within 6 months and must send annual reports to Congress starting within 2 years. The Comptroller General would study and report within 1 year after all pr…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026
- 119-s-1503: Equality Act
- 119-s-2295: Child Care for Working Families Act
- 119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-4889 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4889)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503)
- [119-s-2295: Child Care for Working Families Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2295)
- [119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-852)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4889 (as of 2026-08-06).