State Legislation, Policy & Reports

California: Governor Proposes Budget Cuts Across the Board, Including In-Home Supportive Services and Other Programs for Older Adults

On January 10, 2008, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger released his budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008-2009, which proposes a 10% funding cut for most programs, including programs that assist older adults and their caregivers. The proposed budget would impact the state's In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program by reducing the number of hours provided for certain non-medical, personal care services, such as meal preparation and light chores (more than 90% of IHSS recipients receive these services), and by reducing funding for county operation of IHSS programs. The proposed budget would also reduce funding for Adult Protective Services (APS) by 10% and eliminate the cost of living increases for low-income older adults and people with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or State Supplemental Payments (SSP). For more information, visit:

California Budget Project

Federal Legislation, Policy & Reports

CMS Proposed Rule to Allow Self-Directed Personal Assistance Services

On January 14, 2008, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule change that would allow states to adopt a self-directed personal assistance services plan option in their Medicaid programs. This option would permit Medicaid beneficiaries who quality for personal care services to receive a cash allowance that could be used to hire, direct and train their own personal care workers - including qualified family members - rather than receiving home care services from an agency. Many states currently have such options allowed under temporary waivers in their Medicaid programs. This rule change would allow such programs to become permanent state options. The notice of proposed rulemaking was published in the January 18, 2008 issue of the Federal Register. Public comments regarding the proposed rule change are due February 19, 2008. For more information, visit:

CMS

VA Funds Eight Pilot Caregiver Programs

On December 6, 2007, the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA) announced that it will provide nearly $4.7 million for programs to support and train family caregivers who care for disabled and aging veterans in their homes. The funding will support eight pilot programs across the country. The programs will provide a number of caregiver services, including respite, case management and service coordination, personal care assistance, emotional support, and education programs that teach caregivers how to obtain community resources, time management techniques, medication management, communication skills, and ways to better care for themselves. For more information, visit:

U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs

International News

United Kingdom: Report Reveals Widespread Support for Long-Term Care Reform, Strong Support for Family Caregivers

Caring Choices, a coalition of 15 long-term care organizations in the United Kingdom, released a report in January which examined the public's views of how long-term care services are funded in the country. The researchers spoke with 700 people who had experience with the long-term care system, including older adults and family caregivers. The report, "The Future of Care Funding: Time for a Change," revealed that the majority of people were dissatisfied with the current system of means testing and felt that there should be universal access to some level of public support for long-term care services. Participants also expressed an "overwhelming view" that family caregivers must receive better support if any long-term care policy is to be effective. For more information, visit:

Caring Choices

Research Reports & Journal Articles

Research Agenda Focuses on Health and Long-Term Care for Adults with Multiple Chronic Conditions

An article in the January 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (Volume 56, Number 1) revealed a research agenda focusing on health care for older adults with multiple chronic conditions. Research priorities identified in the article, "Health Care for Older Americans with Multiple Chronic Conditions: A Research Agenda" by Dr. Susan Norris and her colleagues, focus on effective models of health care for disease treatment, management practices and organizational structures in long-term care, and effective interventions for patients with concurrent cognitive or emotional impairments. Identifying the needs of family caregivers in providing long-term and palliative care is specified as one of the research goals. For more information, visit:

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

The Links Between Grief, Ambiguous Loss and Barriers to Caregiving

The December 2007/ January 2008 issue of the American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias (Volume 22, Number 6) features an article that "explores the links between anticipatory grief, ambiguous loss, and principal barriers that family members face as dementia caregivers." The research presented in the article, "Evidence for Grief as the Major Barrier Faced by Alzheimer's Caregivers: A Qualitative Analysis" by Dr. Jacquelyn Frank, reveals that grief and ambiguous loss related to personal sacrifice, communication challenges and lack of support are the primary barriers to caregiving, moreso than the challenge of actually providing hands-on care. For more information, visit:

American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias

Conferences & Trainings

Creating Aging-Friendly Communities: Free Online Conference Starts February 13

The Center for the Advanced Study of Aging Services at the University of California, Berkeley is hosting a free online conference called "Creating Aging-Friendly Communities" from February 13 - March 5, 2008. Weekly online sessions will feature nationally recognized authorities on aging and community development. For more information and to register, visit:

Creating Aging-Friendly Communities

Annual Lifespan Respite Conference - Call for Papers

Organizers of the 2008 Lifespan Respite Conference are calling for papers to be submitted by March 1, 2008. The annual Conference will be held in Des Moines, Iowa September 4 - 6, 2008 and will be called "Home Grown: Cultivating Caregivers." The Conference is hosted by the Iowa Respite and Crisis Care Coalition and the ARCH National Respite Network. For more information, visit:

Iowa Respite and Crisis Care Coalition

Funding, Media & Miscellaneous

Article Examines Distance Caregiving and the Need for Care Coordinators

An article in the January 6, 2008 edition of the Los Angeles Times, "Caring for aging parents from a distance: a growing problem," examines the growing trend of distance caregivers, particularly adult children who live far away from aging and ailing parents. As a result of this trend, the business of elder care coordination has grown as more families hire care coordinators to help them navigate long-term care services from afar. While regulation for care coordinators is lax, there are increasing efforts to establish standards for this industry. For more information, visit:

Los Angeles Times

Article Highlights Boom in Caregiver Websites

An article in the January 4, 2008 edition of Mass High Tech, the journal of New England Technology, examines the growth in the number of new websites designed for family caregivers. The article, "'Caregiver' sites launch as boomers seek help with elders," explains that many of the websites are profit-driven, since baby boomer caregivers are viewed as a population with money to spend. It also explains that the challenge for caregiver website designers is to attract users who are caring for older adults but who don't identify as caregivers and who tend to search for informative websites that are disease-specific or service-specific, rather than have a broad caregiver focus. For more information, visit:

Mass High Tech

New Spanish Language Website on Neurological Disorders

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has established a Spanish language website with information on many neurological disorders, including stroke, dementia, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and autism. The website also provides information on clinical studies and links to organizations that offer information and assistance on neurological disorders. For more information, visit:

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke