SAN DIEGO (SEPTEMBER 26, 2023) –  Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer and the San Diego County Board of Supervisors today voted to make it easier for San Diego families to care for aging parents, grandparents, or other relatives. In a first, the Board authorized providing up  to three “flex days” for County employees to use in emergency situations while caring for an older adult. 

“More San Diegans are trying to balance holding down a job with taking care of an aging loved one. You shouldn’t lose pay just because your mom, dad, or grandparent needs emergency help,” said Supervisor Lawson-Remer, Vice Chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. “By providing paid time off for workers at one of the region’s largest employers, we hope to provide a model others can follow. This pilot program will make life a little easier for San Diegans helping family members age with dignity.”

Of the nearly 3.3 million residents in San Diego County, more than 783,500 people are aged 60 years and older, according to the California Department of Finance. By 2030, the number of adults aged 60 years and older who reside in San Diego County is expected to increase to more than 910,000. 

The initiative is mirrored Supervisor Lawson-Remer’s landmark child care pilot program the Board approved on September 12. At that time, the Board discussed how the need to take care of an aging parent or relative is increasingly as common as the need to take care of a child. 

The vote authorizes County staff to meet and confer with unions and associations representing employees at the County to expand the child care pilot program to include an emergency older adult care flex day system for County employees. The intent is to provide a total of up to three paid days off for employees to use for emergency older adult care purposes. 

The action came as the Board received an update on San Diego County’s Aging Roadmap – a plan to ensure the region has communities and programs that equitably support the needs, and harnesses the contributions, of the growing population of older adults.

To read more about the pilot program, click here.