Carina

Carina

Carina

Carina’s platform connects home care workers to jobs with living wages and benefits.

Seattle, WA

United States

Nonprofit

America's largest and fastest-growing occupation, the care workforce, is in crisis. Home care workers, who are predominantly women and immigrants, have long been excluded from economic security. Despite their critical role, care workers historically lack access to fair wages, benefits, and job stability. By 2031, demand for home care workers will grow by 25%, outpacing every other field. Millions of older adults and people with disabilities increasingly rely on care workers to live with dignity at home. In their 2025 publication Direct Care Workers in the U.S: Key Facts, PHI reported that because of low wages and part-time hours, median annual earnings for direct care workers were under $26,000. Thirty-six percent of direct care workers live in low-income households (defined as subsisting at less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level), and 59 percent rely on public assistance, such as Medicaid, food and nutrition assistance, and/or cash assistance. The result is a workforce shortage of nearly 2 million unfilled positions, threatening workers, families, and systems of care. Home care workers who have unionized have made meaningful gains in wages and benefits — yet most home care workers still lack reliable pathways to good jobs.

Carina is a web-based platform that connects care workers to union-affiliated positions with benefits, treating care work as the valuable work it is. By partnering with state Medicaid programs, labor unions, and employers, Carina provides an on ramp to quality jobs. Using cloud-native technology, Carina designs for people with limited digital literacy, people with disabilities, and those for whom English is not a first language. Anyone with internet access can use Carina through a smartphone, laptop, or desktop computer, and there is no cost to end users. Those without internet are assisted by state subcontractors. Carina emphasizes autonomy for both workers and consumers. Medicaid-verified care seekers post jobs communicating their needs, demographics, schedule, home environment qualities, and other personal preferences. Home care workers create profiles to communicate their availability, skills, and preferences. Advanced filters allow individuals to identify work or care opportunities based on these criteria as well as travel time by car or public transit. Both sides have agency to take the first action and message the other party. Matches made by mutual choice mean better fit and result in longer employment relationships and economic stability.

In the US, more than 1.5 million individuals receiving Medicaid benefits choose their own care workers. This is called self-directed care. According to PHI, 85% of direct care workers are women, 67% are people of color, and 33% are immigrants. Even as wages rise through unionization, workers can't access enough hours, new clients when needed, the right clients for their skills, or work close enough to home to make ends meet. A worker earning $25/hour who can only secure 15 hours a week is still living in poverty. Carina is the first matching system designed specifically to meet the needs of people seeking care and care workers. Carina's workflow and navigation tools reduce friction in the connection process. For example, travel time calculations incorporate both car and public transit options. Profile data can be automatically applied to search with one click to find the most compatible potential matches. When users access the platform from email or SMS notifications, they are directed to the specific in-app page related to the alert action. Worker profiles and job postings can be updated via SMS and/or notifications without any login required. Carina meets workers where they are to support their search for good jobs.