PHOENIX, Ariz. - A coalition of social activists and care-industry groups is calling for Congress to pass President Joe Biden's American Families Plan.

It's part of Biden's $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill, with about $400 billion to boost home and community-based services for vulnerable people who need assistance. Studies estimate more than 40 million Americans provide hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid care for family members.

Ai-jen Poo, executive director of Caring Across Generations, said the need for paid family leave and affordable care services in Arizona and elsewhere continues to grow.

"Families also require more supportive services," said Poo, "for veterans and people with disabilities, and older adults - who wish to remain in the comfort of their own homes and communities. But these options have too often been out of reach. "

Caring Across Generations sponsored a recent online town hall meeting to discuss Arizona families' needs. Most Republicans and some Democrats oppose the Biden plan, saying it costs too much.

The session included advocacy groups, elected officials and family members who provide care for a child with a disability, or a retired military spouse with service-related injuries. Poo said the needs are great.

"Nationwide," said Poo, "we have 850,000 older adults and people with disabilities who are either ineligible for Medicaid services in their homes or communities, or have been on waiting list for these services for as long as five or more years."

Also speaking was U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton - D-Phoenix - who is on several key subcommittees that will make recommendations to the full House on parts of the Family Plan.

"In this plan, Arizona home- and community-based infrastructure would receive $631 million over 10 years for 13,000 direct-care jobs," said Stanton. "We're going to need a lot more than that because of the aging of our community. That is a good place to start."

Stanton added the Biden plan also includes universal pre-kindergarten, early-childhood programs for three- and four-year olds, tuition-free community college, and would make the federal Child Tax Credit permanent. And it aims to reduce the cost of prescription drugs.

Workers at a hospital on the Oregon coast are citing a victory in contract negotiations with their employer.

More than 100 members of SEIU Local 49 at Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital in Lincoln City will receive raises averaging 10% over the first year of their new contract. Brittany King, a CT special imaging technologist at the hospital, said many workers have been struggling to afford living in the community, and this raise makes the hospital's wages competitive with the local job market.

"There are a lot of members," she said, "that told me specifically that, 'I think this is a wage that I can live with, that means I don't have to leave Samaritan.'"

King said workers have dealt with a number of tragedies in recent years, including the pandemic and 2020 wildfires. Their new contract also expands education funding.

Rachel Eggleton, a certified nursing assistant at the hospital, said workers rallied over Memorial Day weekend when contract negotiations stalled and the community members showed their support.

"Once they saw us out in the rain rallying," she said, "they realized, 'OK, maybe there's something wrong. Maybe we need to help out our health-care workers, because they've been there through thick and thin for the entire pandemic, regardless of whatever's happening.' We still provided the care that they needed."

Eggleton said this support has been key.

"Getting everybody involved and getting the community involved," she said, "it will always bring us better things."

A new Minnesota law, which goes into effect Sunday, removes requirements restricting Social Security recipients from receiving full jobless benefits as well.

Bill sponsors noted Minnesota was the last state to have the offset requirement. It reduced by 50% unemployment aid for laid-off workers who, within the first year, either received or started to apply for Social Security.

Kate Schaefers, volunteer state president of AARP Minnesota, said it had a profound effect on older workers as the pandemic began to take shape. She pointed to testimony from a Rochester man who had worked part-time in retail and lost his job but had no unemployment benefits to supplement his income.

"He told us that he cut back on expenses, including his medication, because he couldn't afford them living just off of his Social Security check," Schaefers recounted.

Schaefers pointed out they are disappointed the changes are not retroactive, leaving out many residents devastated by the crisis. But she noted supporters secured a compromise with the Senate by starting the repeal date this year, as opposed to waiting longer to appease concerns about the unemployment fund's balance.

Schaefers said looking ahead, the repeal will be beneficial to the growing number of older adults who cannot afford to solely rely on their pension in the face of rising consumer costs.

"This is a key part of their retirement ... continued work," Schaefers explained. "This is going to benefit them if they get laid off; that they can access those unemployment benefits."

The group estimated 16% of Minnesotans 62 and older receiving Social Security are still in the labor force. It added the benefits are modest, averaging nearly $1,600 a month in Minnesota.

The so-called "great resignation" isn't playing out for all workers. A new survey covering North Dakota and Minnesota shows people on the lower end of the income scale face obstacles in jumping to other job opportunities.

The Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, along with Community Action agencies in both states, heard from more than 200 individuals, mainly working in social services, education and health care. Most expressed a desire to move up the career ladder, but said they lack the resources to learn new skills, or that expenses such as child care get in the way.

Erick Garcia Luna, regional outreach director at the Minneapolis Fed, said it becomes more pronounced for people earning very little in their current job.

"If a family is making minimum wage," he said, "they're going to have a harder time taking the time, for example, to get trained for another job."

Nearly 60% of respondents making between $10,000 and $25,000 dollars a year said it's either "somewhat or very difficult" to make an occupational change. Community Action Partnership of North Dakota said the survey also revealed these individuals are finding it harder to meet basic needs amid rising inflation, but also can't afford to pursue a better-paying job.

Ashley Littlewolf, workforce development case manager lead at the Southeastern North Dakota Community Action Agency, said she sees a lot of overlap with these barriers.

"They're feeding each other, the barriers are increasing each other," she said. "That need for new skills, and then finding the day care - and also, the jobs not paying enough."

While some employers are offering better pay, Littlewolf said the findings should prompt more action to boost starting wages. She said expanding the hiring pool can help, too.

"Taking a chance on someone who may not have that experience," she said, "but offering on-site training, offering the opportunity for them to enter that career path without the experience or education."