State Legislation, Policy & Reports
Hawaii: Joint Legislative Committee Releases Report on Family Caregiving
On December 27, 2006, the Hawaii Joint Legislative Committee on Family Caregiving released its report of recommendations to enhance support for those providing unpaid care to older relatives or friends with physical or cognitive disabilities. As stated in the report, the Committee "envisions a comprehensive and sustainable, community-based family caregiver support system that has components including: (1) A coordinated referral and case management service; (2) Centralization of available services; (3) Volunteers; (4) Education and training; and (5) Financial assistance." The report was created pursuant to a state law passed in July 2006. For more information, visit:
Hawaii Reporter
Kentucky: Bill Would Require Study on the Impact of Alzheimer's Disease in State
On January 2, 2007, Kentucky Senator Denise Harper Angel introduced a Senate Joint Resolution (SJR 6) to direct the Kentucky Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Advisory Council and the Office on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders to assess the current and future impact of Alzheimer's disease in Kentucky. The assessment must "examine the existing services and resources, address the needs of persons with Alzheimer's disease and their families and caregivers, and identify a strategy to mobilize a state response." For more information, visit:
Kentucky Legislature
Mississippi: Bill Would Create Temporary Adult Day Services Program for Low-Income Seniors and People with Disabilities
On January 5, 2007, Mississippi Senator Johnnie Walls introduced a bill (SB 2310) which would require the Division of Medicaid to design and implement a temporary program to provide adult day services to individuals 65 years and older and people with disabilities whose income falls below 135% of the poverty line. The purpose of the program is to "help assist with personal needs to allow family members or caregivers to work or conduct necessary business." The adult day services can be provided by public or private entities, which will be reimbursed by the state. For more information, visit:
Mississippi Legislature
New York: Lawmakers Introduce a Number of Caregiver Related Bills
New York lawmakers started the 2007 legislative session by introducing eight bills to support family caregivers. Assemblyman Steve Englebright led the charge by introducing legislation to provide state employees with 30 days of paid leave to care for a parent or relative 60 years or older (A 844); to create a coordinating council for services related to Alzheimer's and other dementias which, among other things, would make recommendations on ways to support family caregivers (A 899); to establish a Grandparent Caregiver Support program to provide support services, such as information and referral, training and counseling, to grandparents and other relatives 60 years or older who provide primary support for a child (A 965); and to authorize the state's commissioner of health to apply for federal approval to establish a cash and counseling program (A 1469). Senator Martin Golden joined Assemblyman Englebright in introducing legislation in both the Senate and Assembly to provide qualified caregivers an income tax credit of 20% on the first $2,400 spent on qualified care expenses, plus $75 for any amount spent over $240 (A 1464, S 459). Finally, the same pair of legislators introduced companion legislation to establish a senior care choices program to provide adults age 60 years or older who are medically eligible for a nursing home the care and services they need at home, including a provision requiring an "assessment of the informal caregiving network and supports capable of providing social and nonmedical services to the senior" (A 1450, S 458). For more information, visit:
New York Legislature
Federal Legislation, Policy & Reports
New Fact Sheets on Federal Long-Term Care Financing; Family Caregivers' Contribution "Sizable"
The Georgetown University Long-Term Care Financing Project released two newly revised fact sheets. "National Spending on Long-Term Care" looks at total spending for nursing home and home care services nationwide. It stated that "out-of-pocket payments by people receiving long-term care and their families financed 19 percent, or about $37 billion, of long-term care services in 2004. The role of families of individuals with long-term care needs is much greater, however... The indirect costs associated with family caregiving, including time away from paid work and other activities, can be sizable." "Medicaid and Long-Term Care" describes Medicaid's role in financing long-term care, with a focus on home and community-based services. For more information, visit:
Georgetown University Long-Term Care Financing Project
Report on Real Choice Functional Assessment Tool Recommends Use of Family Caregiver Module
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Center for Health Policy and Research have submitted the "Real Choice Systems Change Grant Functional Assessment Report" to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. Creating a functional assessment tool for all age and disability populations was a primary focus of Massachusetts' Real Choice Systems Change grant. The report offers a literature review of states with comprehensive assessment tools, reviews the work of the Massachusetts Functional Assessment Work Group, examines the development of their Real Choice Functional Assessment Tool and protocols, and highlights key findings and recommendations. The state recommends the use of a modular tool that includes a "core set of questions that capture necessary and critical information regardless of program or service, coupled with the inclusion of modules" for specific needs, including those of family caregivers. For more information, visit:
Clearinghouse for the Community Living Exchange Collaborative
International News
Canada: Companies to Provide Employees' Emergency Adult Day Services
Several large corporations in Calgary have signed onto a six-month pilot program to provide emergency adult day services to employees who care for an elderly loved one. The program was launched, in part, due to the realization that there is an "'unprecedented demand' for emergency short-term care for elderly parents." It is also a way for employers to attract new employees in a competitive market. The programs offer benefits such as two free days of emergency adult day services a year on-site at the workplace. For more information, visit:
Calgary Sun
South Africa: Paper Explores Impact of Caregiving on Elderly Women
In December 2006, the Institute of Behavioral Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder released a working paper, "Caregivers' Sacrifices: The Opportunity Costs Of Adult Morbidity and Mortality on Female Pensioners in Rural South Africa," by Catherine Ogeunmefun and Enid Schatz. It "explores the impact of adult morbidity and mortality on the socioeconomic well-being of female pensioners and their households. As mortality rates escalate from HIV/AIDS and other causes, older women are bearing the brunt of responsibilities related to caregiving for the sick and orphaned," often spending their state pensions to deal with a caregiving crisis situation. After interviewing 30 women aged 60-75, researchers "found that, in order to cover expenses incurred during crises, older women sometimes forego spending money and time on their personal needs, thus producing negative effects for them as individuals while they are contributing positively to the household. Despite the additional household income that pensions provide, many of the study respondents still found it difficult to recover from the financial impact of these crises." For more information, visit:
Institute of Behavioral Science
United Kingdom: "Families Told Elderly Care Crisis Looming"
The Guardian reported in the United Kingdom that "families face a growing burden of care for elderly and disabled relatives and most people will have to pay for their own support services in old age as the state's role shrinks." In a report from the Commission for Social Care Inspection, the Commission's chair, Dame Denise Platt, "is expected to say that older people in much of England can anticipate no help from the state until their needs are judged 'critical'. Her report will urge fresh thinking on the help given to families." Such changes stem, in part, from the projected growth in government funding that would be necessary to maintain the status quo as a growing number of elderly and disabled people live longer and need more long-term care. For more information, visit:
Guardian
Research Reports & Journal Articles
Telephone Support Groups Shown to Help Female Caregivers of Dementia Patients
The American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias published "Evaluation of a Telephone-Based Support Group Intervention for Female Caregivers of Community-Dwelling Individuals With Dementia" in its January 2007 issue (Vol. 21, No. 6). Drs. Laraine Winter and Laura Gitlin evaluated the impact of professionally-led telephone support groups on the caregiver burden, depression, and personal gains of female caregivers of dementia patients. After six months, caregivers aged 65 and older who participated in the support groups reported lower rates of depression than those caregivers who did not participate in the groups. For more information, visit:
American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias
Caregivers Find Personal Rewards in Providing End-of-Life Care to Loved Ones, Despite Strains
The results of a study by Dr. Jennifer Wolff and her colleagues published in Archives of Internal Medicine on January 8, 2007 (Volume 167, No.1) showed that more than two-thirds of end-of-life caregivers "endorsed personal rewards related to their helping role," despite the significant emotional, physical, and financial strains. "Compared with primary informal caregivers of persons who survived the following 12 months [of the study], end-of-life caregivers provided significantly higher levels of assistance and reported more challenges and strains, but they were no less likely to endorse rewards related to their helping role." These caregivers provided more than 40 hours of care a week and were not likely to use caregiver support services. The rewards they experienced included feeling good about themselves, feeling useful, and being able to appreciate life more. For more information, visit:
Archives of Internal Medicine
Conferences & Trainings
National Conference on Caregiving Slated for March 6, 2007
FCA's National Center on Caregiving, in partnership with the American Society on Aging, is presenting a one-day preconference special program "Family Caregiving: State of the Art, Future Trends," at the 2007 Joint Conference of the American Society on Aging (ASA) and the National Council on Aging (NCOA) in Chicago. The special program will be held on Tuesday, March 6 from 8:30 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. (the Joint Conference will be held March 7-10). It will bring together experts from practice, policy and research arenas to discuss cutting edge research, effective service interventions, and trends that will profoundly affect family caregivers. For conference speakers, program details and information on registration, visit:
Family Caregiver Alliance
n4a Aging Policy Briefing and Capitol Hill Day 2007
The National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) will be holding its 13th Annual Aging Policy Briefing and Capitol Hill Day from March 26-28, 2007 in Washington, D.C. The event opens with an advocacy primer on the afternoon of Monday, March 26, followed by a full-day policy briefing on Tuesday the 27th, and Capitol Hill Day on Wednesday the 28th. Participants include key administration officials, policy analysts, congressional staff, and others interested in advocating for aging programs. For more information, visit:
National Association of Area Agencies on Aging
Funding, Media & Miscellaneous
"Saying Goodbye to Grandmother's House"
Writing about her family's experience moving her elderly grandmother out of her home where she lived alone, Wall Street Journal reporter Dana White discussed the challenges of getting elderly loved ones to relinquish some independence and move into the home of an adult child or relative in order to receive needed care. She noted baby boomers' fierce independence and desire to hang on to a younger lifestyle, as well as their low level of retirement savings, as factors that could present obstacles to boomers' adult children who will soon start planning for and dealing with their parents' aging and need for care. For more information, visit:
Wall Street Journal
"Sibling Rivalries Affect Care of Aging Parents"
Carla K. Johnson of the Associated Press recently reported on the common story of family drama and sibling rivalry when it comes time for adult children to decide how to care for their elderly parents. The article, appearing in the Indianapolis Star and a number of other newspapers, reported that old family dynamics often reappear and differences between brothers' and sisters' expectations surface when siblings go through the process of caring for elderly or ailing parents and making decisions about their care. The article cited advice from Donna Schempp of FCA's Bay Area Caregiver Resource Center in San Francisco, about how families can work together effectively to make such important decisions. For more information, visit:
Indianapolis Star
