Migrant workers in eldercare in Israel: Social and legal aspects

Most old people want to remain in their homes and age in place, and they regard institutional admission as a last resort. In various developed countries, as the demand for homecare workers to augment traditional family caregiving increases apace, migrant caregivers providing otherwise unavailable informal services are becoming more common. They enable older people to stay in their homes, provide them with a sense of security and confidence, reduce feelings of loneliness and solitude, alleviate the family burden, and improve the well-being of the primary caregivers. On the other hand, migrant caregivers pose serious challenges to existing social and legal institutions in the societies in which they operate. They demand policy responses that in many cases have socio-economic consequences that go beyond the older population they serve.This article describes and analyzes the Israeli experience with migrant homecare workers for older persons. It discusses key problems and dilemmas that are involved with employing migrant homecare workers, and provides some critical perspectives on policies adopted in Israel as a response to this phenomenon.