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AARP AND
CALIFORNIA'S CAREGIVER RESOURCE CENTERS SPONSOR
MAY 12-13 CONFERENCE FOR CAREGIVERS
SACRAMENTO—April 16, 2003—California caregivers coping with the many difficulties of providing care for an older loved one are invited to attend Caring Counts!, a first-of-its kind conference sponsored by AARP and California's Caregiver Resource Centers on May 12-13 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento. The two-day conference will increase caregiver knowledge, awareness of services and practical skills necessary to help individuals who are in a caregiving role.
Caring Counts! will also raise the visibility of family caregiving and long-term care as a consumer movement.
"The time is right to bring the critical issues surrounding family caregivers to the forefront," said Helen Russ, AARP California State President. "Holding this conference provides a unique opportunity for dialogue between family caregivers, practitioners and policymakers who want to enhance caregiver programs and work toward achieving long-term care integration."
"Our statewide system of Caregiver Resource Centers (CRCs) has placed California in the forefront of long-term care services for more than two decades," said Kathleen Kelly, Executive Director of Family Caregiver Alliance, the Bay Area CRC. "But we need to take action now to provide integrated services that will allow more families to keep loved ones at home, out of institutions, as long as possible. As Baby Boomers and their parents age, the demand will be enormous."
Caregivers face many difficulties when they navigate the present long-term care system. Although caregiving services are becoming increasingly available, when a family is in crisis over a loved one's health, determining the level and amount of care needed and finding the finances to pay for it can be difficult, and in many cases, overwhelming.
One of AARP's goals is to enable individuals of all ethnic backgrounds and income levels to age in place, have a wide range of choices that reflect their personal choices, and have access to an increased range of quality services in their homes and communities.
For more information on registration, please call (877) 926-8300. The cost to attend is $75 for family caregivers and $125 for health/service professionals. AARP members also receive a 15% discount. Scholarships are available to family caregivers.
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to making life better for people 50 and over. We provide information and resources; engage in legislative, regulatory and legal advocacy; assist members in serving their communities; and offer a wide range of unique benefits, special products, and services for our members. These include AARP The Magazine, published bimonthly; AARP Bulletin, our monthly newspaper; Segunda Juventud, our quarterly newspaper in Spanish; Live and Learn, our quarterly newsletter for National Retired Teachers Association members; and our Web site, www.aarp.org. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Serving as a single point of entry to caregiving programs, California's statewide system of 11 Caregiver Resource Centers offers a full complement of free or low-cost services designed to assist family caregivers of adults with disabling health conditions. All CRCs have a core component of programs that provide information and support. Services include family consultation; respite assistance; legal and financial consultation; publications; educational programs; support groups; and counseling. The CRCs, funded by the California Department of Mental Health, are united by shared values emphasizing choice, collaboration, innovation, quality, participation, respect and diversity. For information, call (800) 445-8106.
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