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STATE LEGISLATION, POLICY & REPORTS
1. Montana: Grant to Help Rural Caregivers of Alzheimer’s Patients
http://www.dphhs.mt.gov/newsevents/newsreleases/march/stategetsgrants.shtml
2. Washington: Ruling On Medicaid Personal Care Hours Could Affect Family Members Who are Paid Caregivers
http://tinyurl.com/zpx45
3. Minnesota: Evaluation of State’s Long-Term Care and Home and Community-Based Services Systems
http://tinyurl.com/gzyuj
4. Iowa: Creation of Single Point of Entry System for Long-Term Care Services
http://tinyurl.com/jsfnv
FEDERAL LEGISLATION, POLICY & REPORTS
5. Senate Special Committee on Aging Hearing: Retirement Security for Women
http://tinyurl.com/ewwt9
6. Administration on Aging Presents Proposal for the Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act
http://www.aoa.gov/
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
7. South Korea: Government to Pay Older Adults to Become Caregivers of Others
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200603/200603200027.html
RESEARCH REPORTS & JOURNAL ARTICLES
8. Ahead of the Curve: Emerging Trends and Practices in Family Caregiver Support
http://tinyurl.com/jgkzb
9. Research on Caregivers’ Reasons for Nursing Home Placement
http://gerontologist.gerontologyjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/46/1/52
10. Using Telephone-Based Support Groups to Assist Family Caregivers
http://gerontologist.gerontologyjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/46/1/134
CONFERENCES & TRAININGS
11. International Conference on Frontotemporal Dementias with Focus on Caregivers: September 6-8, 2006
http://www.ucsfcme.com/2006/MNR07002.pdf
12. Gerontological Society of America Annual Meeting: November 16-20, 2006
http://www.agingconference.com
FUNDING, MEDIA & MISCELLANEOUS
13. The Seattle Times Series on Long-Term Care and Making Wise Eldercare Choices
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/growingolder/
STATE LEGISLATION, POLICY & REPORTS
1. Montana: Grant to Help Rural Caregivers of Alzheimer’s Patients
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services has received a federal grant of $290,000 to help rural caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive impairments. The Department has contracted with four programs across the state to provide caregiver services, such as respite and caregiver education. The demonstration programs will also explore how services can be more consumer-directed. For more information, visit:
http://www.dphhs.mt.gov/newsevents/newsreleases/march/stategetsgrants.shtml
2. Washington: Ruling On Medicaid Personal Care Hours Could Affect Family Members Who are Paid Caregivers
The Washington Court of Appeals has ruled that the State’s Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services waiver program cannot automatically deduct personal care hours from an enrollee’s support services package if he or she is living with a family member who is a paid caregiver. The State can take shared housing into consideration when making individualized personal care hour allocations, but cannot impose automatic deductions. For more information, visit:
http://tinyurl.com/zpx45
3. Minnesota: Evaluation of State’s Long-Term Care and Home and Community-Based Services Systems
Legislation (S.B. 2080) introduced in the Minnesota legislature would allocate funds for a one year study of the state’s long-term care service options. The Commissioner of Human Services would be required to report on the study’s findings, including recommendations for a rebalanced allocation of public funding between nursing facility services and home and community-based services. The study will also include proposals for addressing the needs of family caregivers, and would focus on support services like home health care, block nurse programs, meals and nutrition services, adult day care, transportation and homemaker services, and care coordination. For more information, visit:
http://tinyurl.com/gzyuj
4. Iowa: Creation of Single Point of Entry System for Long-Term Care Services
The Iowa legislature has introduced a bill (H.B. 2729; HSB 753) to create a task force to make recommendations for a single point of entry for the state’s long-term care service system. The single point of entry system would provide for multiple access sites that are standardized and coordinated, a management information system that links the resources available to provide a single electronic point of entry, and a telephonic single point of entry for consumers. For more information, visit:
http://tinyurl.com/jsfnv
FEDERAL LEGISLATION, POLICY & REPORTS
5. Senate Special Committee on Aging Hearing: Retirement Security for Women
The U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing recently on retirement income disparity for women. Senators Herb Kohl and Gordon Smith made statements about the increased likelihood of women having smaller retirement incomes, while Senator Kohl offered policy proposals to address this problem, such as tax incentives for businesses to hire and retain older workers and tax credits to family caregivers who have taken time off to care for loved ones. Other experts from research and advocacy organizations also gave testimony supporting policies to improve financial security for women. For more information, visit:
http://tinyurl.com/ewwt9
6. Administration on Aging Presents Proposal for the Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act
The Administration on Aging has released Choices for Independence, part of its proposal for the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA). The Choices proposal is a $28 million demonstration project to promote consumer-directed and community-based long-term care options. The project entails offering “one stop” resource centers for information and support services, and will promote the use of “cash and counseling” models to give consumers control over the care they receive. The project will also implement prevention strategies to help older adults better maintain their health. The Administration also outlined six clarifying technical amendments that it proposes concerning the OAA’s reauthorization. For more information, visit:
http://www.aoa.gov/
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
7. South Korea: Government to Pay Older Adults to Become Caregivers of Others
The South Korean government has announced increased funding to create approximately 12,000 jobs this year for older adults who are healthy enough to act as caregivers to other older adults that have mobility issues or chronic illnesses. The paid caregivers will assist with bathing, cleaning, homemaker chores, and offer companionship. For more information, visit:
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200603/200603200027.html
RESEARCH REPORTS & JOURNAL ARTICLES
8. Ahead of the Curve: Emerging Trends and Practices in Family Caregiver Support
A new report from the AARP Public Policy Institute, co-authored by Lynn Friss Feinberg, Kari Wolkwitz and Cara Goldstein from FCA’s National Center on Caregiving highlights three emerging trends that have important implications for addressing the needs of family caregivers: caregiver assessment; consumer direction in family caregiver support services; and collaborations between the aging network and the health care system to identify family caregivers who may be at risk for their own health problems and emotional strain associated with the caregiving role. Initiatives in eight states are profiled. For more information, visit:
http://tinyurl.com/jgkzb
9. Research on Caregivers’ Reasons for Nursing Home Placement
The Gerontologist has published a study by Drs. Gwendolen Buhr, Maragatha Kuckibhatla, and Elizabeth Clipp of 2,200 caregivers of patients with dementia and their reasons for choosing to place their loved one in a nursing home or not. Of the caregivers who did place their family member in a nursing facility, their reasons for placement included: the need for more skilled care (65%); the caregivers’ health (49%); the patients’ dementia-related behaviors (46%); and the need for more assistance (23%). Each of these reasons was associated with stress indicators in surveys of the study participants conducted one year prior. The findings suggest that the level of caregiver burden can predict nursing home placement. The researchers recommend that caregivers should be systematically screened during routine doctors’ office visits. For more information, visit:
http://gerontologist.gerontologyjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/46/1/52
10. Using Telephone-Based Support Groups to Assist Family Caregivers
A study in The Gerontologist authored by Adam Bank, Ph.D. and colleagues demonstrates the value of conducting telephone-based support groups in reaching family caregivers. More than 40 caregivers participated in the Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer’s Caregiver Health (REACH) program, with support groups conducted over the phone in English and Spanish. 81 percent of the participants reported the group “valuable”, and the majority also said that their participation in the group had increased their knowledge and skills as caregivers. This type of support setting may be especially valuable to caregivers in hard-to-serve geographic areas. For more information, visit:
http://gerontologist.gerontologyjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/46/1/134
CONFERENCES & TRAININGS
11. International Conference on Frontotemporal Dementias with Focus on Caregivers: September 6-8, 2006
The 5th International Conference on Frontotemporal Dementias will occur September 6-8, 2006 in San Francisco. The conference will be a 3-day event, with 1 full day devoted to family caregivers. Registration for family caregivers is $75. For more information, visit:
http://www.ucsfcme.com/2006/MNR07002.pdf
12. Gerontological Society of America Annual Meeting: November 16-20, 2006
The Gerontological Society of America will hold its 59th annual scientific meeting November 16-20, 2006 in Dallas. The theme of the conference is “Education and the Gerontological Imagination”, and workshops will be organized around the behavioral and social sciences; social research, policy and practice; biological sciences; and clinical medicine. For more information, visit:
http://www.agingconference.com
FUNDING, MEDIA & MISCELLANEOUS
13. The Seattle Times Series on Long-Term Care and Making Wise Eldercare Choices
Liz Taylor of The Seattle Times has begun a new series focusing on the choices that older adults and their caregivers often face concerning aging and long-term care. The series will offer practical information and articles and answer questions to help people make informed decisions about support services for older adults, long-term care, and general aging issues. For more information, visit:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/growingolder/
©2006 Family Caregiver Alliance. All rights reserved.
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