The Fair Care Marketplace is a proposal for states to fix the failed care economy. By connecting families to state-licensed care providers, streamlining payments and benefits, and supporting care workers with fair wages and protections, the marketplace addresses one of the most pressing challenges facing working families today: the high cost and shortage of quality care. Modeled on proven public–private marketplace frameworks, it creates a coordinated system where families can find the care they need, providers can thrive, and states can strengthen their workforce and economy.

The Fair Care Marketplace benefits all stakeholder groups:

• For families, connections to only background-checked, licensed, affordable, quality care providers and legal working arrangements (unlike current commercial platforms)
• For care workers, connections to legal work arrangements, fair wages, and worker protections
• For employers, tax-deductible benefits for employees, increasing retention and productivity, and a centralized platform for employers and families to access and use benefits (including dependent-care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)).
• For states, transparency to the care economy, additional state revenue, and higher wages for lower-income constituents, decreasing dependency on government safety net programs.
• For insurance companies (optional), the ability to bundle family care benefits with other benefits packages. These added or premier product offerings could expand insurance companies’ market share and competitiveness in the employer-provided or state insurance market.