Elisabelle L. Bocal, LCSW, MS, is a a full-time mental health clinician, doctoral student and caregiver for an aging parent in Maine. She lives in Portland.
The leaves are changing, and the air is just a little cooler in the mornings — small harbingers to the turning of the season, but like many others, I am still waiting on a federal refund.
I filed in April. It is now late September. Every two weeks, I check the IRS portal, hoping for an update. Meanwhile, tuition bills rise, grocery prices in Maine climb and I juggle the demands of full-time clinical work with caring for an aging parent. In Maine — where 23% of the population is 65 or older — caregiving is not a side responsibility, but a structural reality. Yet those who shoulder it receive little systemic support.
What looks like a minor delay is, in reality, a financial lifeline withheld. Refunds aren’t windfalls; they are money we’ve already earned — often budgeted to cover essentials like housing, medications or caregiving costs. Months of delay leave families like mine in financial limbo.
The IRS backlog is not new. At the start of 2023, the agency reported over 5 million unprocessed returns, the result of outdated systems and chronic underfunding. While some gains in processing have been made, many taxpayers remain stuck in the same holding pattern each year — a delay that can tip survival from stable to precarious.
For Maine’s mental health clinicians, the stakes are especially high. Our state has one of the lowest average salaries for clinical social workers in the Northeast — about $55,000 a year. On paper, that might seem workable. But add graduate debt, housing costs and rising utilities — and for those pursuing advanced degrees (I hold two master’s degrees and am completing a doctorate) — student loans can easily stretch into six figures.
At the same time, we are told our work is essential. And it is. Mental health demand has surged, and clinicians are handling some of the heaviest caseloads. Yet even with full-time employment and advanced credentials, many of us live paycheck to paycheck. In a state aging faster than most, caregiving responsibilities only amplify that strain.
The contradiction is stark. We encourage people to enter helping professions, yet fail to build sustainable conditions. We call caregivers the backbone of our communities, yet we give them minimal structural support. We tell Americans to pursue higher education, yet saddle them with debt they may never fully escape.
There are solutions. The IRS must modernize its systems and offer transparent timelines so taxpayers aren’t left in the dark. Beyond that, policymakers must address root inequities: fair compensation for clinicians and educators, meaningful support for caregivers and real relief from student debt. These are not luxuries — they are investments in the people who sustain our health and social fabric.
I’ll keep checking the IRS portal, but this isn’t just about one refund. It’s about whether our systems will finally recognize the value of the people who sustain Maine’s families and communities — clinicians, caregivers and students — and ensure that contributing to society doesn’t leave us teetering on the brink.