When Federal Courts Retreat, States Must Build the Guardrails
673 supporters | 751 signatures | Goal: 1,000
The Morning Relay
This morning, like most mornings, my mother-in-law found my wife in the kitchen to quietly relay what happened overnight.
Where my mother tried to go. What she said. The particular geography of caregiving that our household has developed without anyone planning it.
My wife taught me years ago to stop correcting and start redirecting.
To meet my mother where she is, not where I think she should be.
To build small moments of stability instead of demanding she accept a reality that doesn't match the one she's living in.
I think about that lesson every time I watch Washington fail to do the same thing.
What Happened This Week
On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran-Operation Epic Fury-without a congressional authorization vote.
Senate War Powers Resolution: Failed 47–53
House War Powers Resolution: Failed 212–219
Courts: Silent
Six U.S. service members have been killed. The war continues.
The Strait of Hormuz-20% of the world's oil supply-has effectively closed.
Oil prices: up 10%+
Fertilizer prices: up 35%
Projected inflation: 2.4% → 3% by year's end
DHS has been partially shut down since February 14. TSA workers are approaching their first missed paycheck. FEMA can't make disaster recovery payments. CISA-cybersecurity for hospitals and energy grids-is operating at limited capacity during a war with Iran.
And the courts-the branch that was supposed to prevent this-have said nothing.
Why This Matters for Caregivers
When oil prices spike, caregivers absorb the cost at the gas pump on the way to medical appointments.
When supply chains seize up, caregivers absorb the medication delays.
When federal agencies shut down during a national security crisis, caregivers absorb the instability.
When wars start without votes and continue for eight weeks (Defense Secretary Hegseth's timeline), more veterans come home with invisible injuries-and caregivers are the ones who hold those families together.
Caregivers are the infrastructure that never shuts down.
DHS can close. Courts can retreat. Congress can deadlock.
The caregiver gets up in the morning anyway.
Colorado Cannot Fix the Supreme Court-But We Can Build What They Won't
I want to say this plainly:
- Colorado cannot restore war powers enforcement.
- Colorado cannot compel federal courts to show up.
- Colorado cannot prevent the next shadow docket order that erodes family rights.
What Colorado can do is build the infrastructure the federal courts are no longer building.
The Colorado CARE Act does three things:
1. Shock Absorber
When unauthorized war drives energy toward $100/barrel, families absorb the cost. The CARE Act ensures caregivers don't lose their jobs while carrying that weight.
2. Caregiving Infrastructure
Every week of war produces more returning veterans with PTSD, TBI, invisible injuries. Caregivers are the infrastructure that holds those families together. The CARE Act recognizes and protects that work.
3. Constitutional Guardrail
The federal courts have allowed rights to become unstable. Justice Sotomayor: "No right is safe in the new legal regime the Court creates." Colorado can build stable, enforceable caregiver protections at the state level that don't depend on a federal judiciary that has repeatedly failed families.
What the CARE Act Does
✓ Makes caregiver status a protected class under Colorado law
✓ Requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations
✓ Protects continuity of previously granted accommodations
✓ Prevents creative dismissal (making the job impossible to force resignation)
✓ Covers chronic conditions (dementia, Type 1 diabetes, long-term disability)
✓ Provides due process (written justification for denials, appeals process)
✓ Zero general fund appropriation (budget-neutral, TABOR-neutral)
✓ Projected $9-18M annual Medicaid savings
This is not social services. This is infrastructure policy.
Read the Full Analysis
Part IV: Repair the Courts - "The Night I Stopped Correcting"
This week's 21st Century Guardrails essay examines:
- What courts were supposed to do (and how they've retreated)
- The war that started without a vote
- How economic shocks land on caregivers first
- Why states must build what federal courts won't
- The CARE Act as constitutional architecture
We're 249 Signatures from 1,000
Current: 673 supporters | 751 signatures
Goal: 1,000 signatures
Needed: 249 more
Every signature builds pressure for the 2027 Colorado legislative session.
The federal courts won't build caregiver protections.
So we build them ourselves.
That's what states are for.
That's what caregivers already know.
Take Action Today
1. Sign if you haven't: https://chng.it/DLWncS9wtT
2. Share this petition:
Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Threads, Bluesky
Text to 5 people who care about caregivers
Post to community groups, church lists, parent networks
3. Share your story: mark_fukae@casiadvocacy.org
4. Contact Colorado legislators: https://leg.colorado.gov/find-my-legislator
5. Join the movement:
Professionals Who Care: https://professionalswhocare.org
CASI: https://casiadvocacy.org
Follow on LinkedIn: [CASI Company Page]
6. Subscribe to 21st Century Guardrails: [https://therevenueneutralcaregiver.substack.com/podcast]
Next Week: Part V - Repair the Legislature
The series continues next Saturday with Part V examining congressional capacity collapse and why caregivers are the diagnostic class for institutional failure.
About This Campaign
The Colorado CARE Act would establish caregiver status as a protected class in employment under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, requiring reasonable workplace accommodations and preventing discrimination against the 600,000+ Colorado caregivers (1 in 5 workers) who hold families together.
Zero cost to the state. Projected savings to Medicaid. Constitutional guardrails for families.
Kindly,
Mark Fukae
Founder, CASI
Director of Advocacy, Professionals Who Care
Registered Colorado Volunteer Lobbyist