In-Home Care

Caregiver Support Program

This caregiving section of the web site is intended to provide some information about the issues that face caregivers of older persons. While the information here specifically targets those caring for older adults, the information may be of interest to a more general audience. There are several sections from which to choose. You can browse through the entire text, or select a category from the list below to jump to the section in which you are interested.

Background
Caregiving Statistics
Family Caregiver Support Program
Award for Eldercaregiving
Resources
      Articles
      Organizations
      Web Sites

Background

Recent surveys show there are over seven million people who are informal caregivers in this country. These informal caregivers are the spouses, adult children, relatives and friends who provide unpaid assistance to older adults living in the community with at least some limitation in what they are able to do for themselves. Among those elders who live in the community and need some assistance with their daily activities, 95% have family members involved in their care. Family caregivers have always been the mainstay underpinning long term care for older persons in this country. The degree of caregiver involvement has remained fairly constant for more than a decade, bearing witness to the remarkable resilience of the American family in taking care of its older relatives.

Some Caregiving Statistics

• Approximately three fourths of all caregivers are women, and more than one in five women between the ages of 35-64 are caregivers.
• The value of the services family caregivers provide for free is estimated to be at least $194 billion a year.
• Eighty percent of all home care is provided by family caregivers.
• Three fourths of caregivers, providing intense levels of care, do not get consistent help from other family members.
• Sixty one percent of caregivers providing at least 21 hours of care a week have suffered from depression.

Information from the National Family Caregivers Association

Family Caregiver Support Program

The National Family Caregiver Support Program was first proposed by then President Bill Clinton in 1999. The program became a reality in fall 2000, with the renewal of the Older Americans Act of 1965 and the implementation of the 2000 amendments. In addition to becoming a reality on paper, the program received initial funding of $125 million, to be distributed to state and local agencies to develop programs to meet the needs of family caregivers. The program is intended to assist families in their efforts to care for an older relative who has a serious chronic illness or disability. The program is unique because it is designed to support the informal caregiver, rather than the individual receiving care. The Family Caregiver Support Program is in place to support, not replace, the caregiver.

Services available through the National Family Caregiver Support Program include:

• Information
• Education
• Supportive Counseling
• Training
• Respite Services
• On-going Care Coordination

(NOTE: These are the services available through the Family Caregiver Support Program offered by Area Agency on Aging 11, Inc. Services available through this program may vary in other geographic areas.)

Essentially, the program is a resource to assist caregivers as they take on or continue the important role of primary caregiver to an older individual. The Care Coordinator works with the family to meet the needs of both the caregiver and the care recipient.

There are two groups of caregivers who are targeted to receive assistance through this program:

1. Caregivers of any age who are providing care for a person age 60 and over;
2. A caregiver age 60 and over who is providing care for a family member age 18 or younger with Mental Retardation/ Developmental Disabilities.

Respite services are designed to provide the caregiver with a short-term break from the constant activity of caregiving. Respite services available may include:

• Adult Day Care/ Transportation
• Personal Care Respite
• Homemaker Service Respite
• Chore Services
• Short Term Institutional Stay

Caregivers who access Respite Services through the Family Caregiver Support Program will be required to share in the cost of those services, based on the care recipient's income and a sliding fee scale. There is a cap on the amount that can be spent by the Family Caregiver Support Program on behalf of one caregiver.

For more information about the Family Caregiver Support Program, contact the Area Agency on Aging by phone at 330-746-2938 or 1-800-686-7367. After some preliminary discussion of the family situation, an appointment will be scheduled to discuss how the program may be able to help.

Resources

There are many resources available to provide information to caregivers. Please click on the list below to see resources of each type.

Articles
Organizations
Web Sites

A Caregiver Reference Library is located at each of our senior centers across the four counties we serve. The Library Collection at the Senior Centers includes some of the resources included here, so you can visit the Senior Center and check out those resources in which you have an interest. For a list of the Multipurpose Senior Centers, click here.

In addition, your local library may have a collection of books or videos on the subject matter you are searching for.

If you're trying to determine which of the many books, videos and web sites available might best suit your needs, check out the National Alliance for Caregiving's Family Care Resource Connection on their web site at www.caregiving.org. It's a searchable list of hundreds of books, videos, web sites, magazines, fact sheets and other resources that address the range of issues and questions faced by family caregivers. The site includes ratings, reviews and order information. Or look at the National Caregivers Library, www.caregiverslibrary.org, powered by Family Care America.