A Federal Program Backs Family Caregivers: Five Services Under the National Family Caregiver Support Program, and Nearly 6 Million Hours of Respite
In the United States, the people who care for older adults and children at home have a federal program of their own. The National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP), run by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), was established in 2000 under Title III-E of the Older Americans Act. It provides grants to states and territories, based on their share of the population age 70 and over, so local agencies can deliver support to family and informal caregivers.
The program funds five types of services: information about available services, assistance in gaining access to them, individual counseling, support groups and caregiver training, respite care, and supplemental services on a limited basis. Respite care gives the caregiver a temporary break, at home, in an adult day care or in an institutional setting. In fiscal year 2014, the most recent year for which ACL publishes service data, more than 700,000 caregivers received services through the program; more than 604,000 of them received respite care totaling nearly 6 million hours, and more than 100,000 received counseling, support groups and training.
Eligibility is spelled out in the law. It covers adult family members or other informal caregivers of individuals 60 and older, caregivers of individuals of any age with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders, older relatives aged 55 and older providing care to children under 18, the group shown in the photo, and older relatives, including parents, aged 55 and older providing care to adults ages 18 to 59 with disabilities.
Survey results in ACL's program data show what the services do: 74 percent of caregivers said the services enabled them to provide care longer than would otherwise have been possible, 88 percent said the services helped them be a better caregiver, and nearly 62 percent said that without the services, the care recipient would be living in a nursing home. Caregivers can find local help through ACL's Eldercare Locator, which connects them to Area Agencies on Aging and community organizations. (Source: Administration for Community Living)
Source: Administration for Community Living
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：一位年长的女性亲属与一个孩子依偎在一起。全国家庭照护者支持计划的服务对象之一，正是55岁以上照顾未成年孩子的年长亲属。Wikimedia Commons 图片。 / Photo: An older relative caregiver with a young child. Older relatives aged 55 and older who care for children are among those eligible under the National Family Caregiver Support Program. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
