Launched in 2026, the Caring for Families Task Force brings together state and local leaders, policy experts, and advocates to advance practical solutions that address the cost and accessibility of what Americans need to take care of themselves and their loved ones.

Part of the Forum’s broader Affordability Project, which kicked off in Spring 2025 with a Housing Task Force, this initiative will focus on addressing rising costs, persistent workforce shortages, and limited supply that have left families and communities across the country struggling to find reliable child care, healthcare, eldercare, and more.

In big cities, suburbs, and small towns, families face a range of challenges from forgoing healthcare due to rising costs to leaving the workforce due to the unaffordability or inaccessibility of child care in their regions. Meanwhile, providers struggle to pay competitive wages, and entire regions face “child care deserts” or limited healthcare provider options that also constrain economic growth. While state and local officials cannot completely fill the void of leadership at the federal level, they have opportunities, and the responsibility, to pursue practical solutions that will improve lives in their communities.