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Media advisory

Rep. Adelita Grijalva, Care Advocates, Tucson Families to Hold Roundtable to Demand Affordable Care; Urge Rep. Ciscomani to Stop Voting to Raise Care Costs

October 15, 2026
Workplace Justice, Paid Family & Medical Leave, Early Care & Education, Health Care

Lisa Lederer, 202/371-1996

Roundtable follows Care Can’t Wait Action’s September march to Rep. Ciscomani’s Tucson office to highlight skyrocketing care costs.

TUCSON – On Friday, October 16th at 2:00 PM,  Rep. Adelita Grijalva, care advocates, and Tucson families and caregivers will hold a roundtable to discuss the urgent need for commonsense solutions to lower the cost of child care and in-home care for older adults and disabled people, and finally make paid family and medical leave a reality for all working people. 

In Arizona, where the annual median wage is $50,060, care costs are taking up an increasing share of family budgets:

  • The annual cost of an in-home caregiver is $86,944 (CareScout, 2026)

  • The average cost of center-based child care for two children is $28,371 (Child Care Aware, 2026)  

  • Lost pay due to lack of paid leave annually for all Arizonans is $1.3 billion (NPWF, 2026)

Rep. Grijalva recently announced the introduction of the Direct CARE Opportunity Act of 2026, which will strengthen training, support, and career opportunities for direct care workers who support millions of older Americans and people with disabilities.

In May 2025, Rep. Ciscomani voted for legislation to cut Medicaid, the largest provider of in-home care in the United States, to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and large corporations. 

WHO: 

  • Representative Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07)

  • Xochitl Oseguera, MomsRising Together

  • SEIU Worker, United Workers 

  • Tucson Families and Caregivers 

WHAT: Families Demand Affordable Care Roundtable with Rep. Grijalva

WHEN: Friday, October 16, 2026, 2:00 PM 

WHERE:  UFCW Local, 2955 E. Broadway Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85716

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, stop discrimination against women and moms, and build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: www.MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.