By Greg Link, Aging Services Program Specialist, Administration for Community Living
“At the Administration for Community Living (ACL), we recognize the sacrifices caregivers make so the people they love can age with dignity and remain in their homes and communities as long as possible. Caregivers juggle personal and home care, transport their loved ones to medical appointments, and often make tough financial decisions. They offer emotional support to family members and serve as a communication hub between medical practitioners. They do all this while balancing the competing demands of their own families, jobs, and personal lives. According to an AARP report (PDF) , there are approximately 42 million family caregivers of adults with physical limitations in the United States. Together they provide the equivalent of $450 billion of care each year to older adults, people with disabilities, and those with severe illnesses. As the population of the U.S. continues to age, these numbers will only increase.
“That is why ACL is committed to supporting a wide range of programs to develop and expand the caregiver support infrastructure across the nation. One of these programs, the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP), is the first federal program designed specifically to meet the needs of family caregivers. Since 2000, the NFCSP has provided more than one million caregivers with counseling, answers to questions, help accessing services, and respite care. In fact, the NFCSP has made over six million hours of respite care possible so that family caregivers can get the rest they need.
“ACL is continually looking for ways to reach more caregivers through research and partnerships with other agencies and organizations. One such collaboration is the new Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Family Support which will be operated by the University of Illinois at Chicago and the National Council on Aging. This program was funded by a five-year $4.3 million award from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, which was formerly known as the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research and recently transitioned to ACL under the Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014. The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Family Support will study the experience of caregiving through the lens of both aging and disability. This is the first initiative that seeks to translate research from these fields into evidence-based policies and practices to support caregivers.
Click to continue reading this news release at the Administration for Community Living Website.
