The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) has a long history of working with partners. The Family Caregiving Community of Practice builds on that tradition by creating, including, and/or linking to educational resources for family caregivers. Extension faculty and staff at the local, state, and national level have worked cooperatively with the following national partners or collaborators:

AgrAbility Project

AgrAbility is a USDA-CSREES program that provides education and assistance to farmers and ranchers with disabilities. The National AgrAbility Project and twenty-one state projects are partnerships of Cooperative Extension and a non-profit disability organization. The National AgrAbility Project is a Partnership of University of Wisconsin-Extension and Easter Seals. The primary goal is to return farmers and ranchers with disabilities to their workplace on the farm or ranch. The three major priorities of the program are Education, Networking, and Assistance. A primary goal of education and networking is to increase the program capacity through health farm and government service providers.

For more information, visit their web site at www.agrabilityproject.org.

The Brookdale Foundation Group

The Brookdale Foundation focuses on enhancing the quality of life for America’s senior citizens and furthering the fields of gerontology and geriatrics. The Foundation’s Relatives As Parents Program (RAPP) awards annual seed grants of $10,000 over a two-year period to local, community-based agencies and public state agencies to create or expand supportive services to relative caregivers and their families. Our local programs provide direct, community-based services to relative caregiver families; our regional programs create and expand services to caregivers and their families in a broad geographic area; and our state public agencies serve as the focal point to address statewide programmatic and policy issues, and help create support groups for relative caregivers and their families. Our RAPP Network provides quality, comprehensive services to grandparents and other relatives raising children in 44 states and the District of Columbia.

For more information, visit their web site at www.brookdalefoundation.org.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), previously known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with State governments to administer Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and health insurance portability standards.

In addition to these programs, CMS has other responsibilities, including the administrative simplification standards from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), quality standards in long-term care facilities (more commonly referred to as nursing homes) through its survey and certification process, and clinical laboratory quality standards under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments.

For more information, visit their web site at www.medicare.gov or www.cms.hhs.gov.

Easter Seals

Easter Seals adult and senior service programs are expanding to meet the growing needs of nearly 40 million older adults, who are acquiring disabilities though aging. As the nation’s largest network of adult day centers, Easter Seals promises caregivers a safe, enriching environment for their loved ones -- and an alternative to more costly institutional care. In addition to these center-based programs, Easter Seals offers a variety of support services for older adults and their families.

For more information, visit their web site at www.easterseals.com/seniors or www.easterseals.com/ruralcaregiving.

League of Experienced Family Caregivers

The League of Experienced Family Caregivers (LEFC) is a registry of family caregivers helping to expand and improve support services for family caregivers. By sharing their unique insights, LEFC members are helping to create assessment tools and care management protocols that assist service providers in meeting caregivers’ needs.

For more information, visit their web site at www.familycaregivers.uwm.edu.

National Alliance for Caregiving

National Alliance for Caregiving is a non-profit coalition of 40+ national organizations focusing on issues of family caregiving across the lifespan. The mission of the Alliance is to be the objective national resource on family caregiving, with the goal of improving the quality of life for families and care recipients. The Alliance conducts national research, develops programs to reach out to caregivers, analyzes national policy, works to increase public awareness of caregiving issues, strengthens state and local caregiving coalitions, and works with the international caregiving community. Alliance members include grassroots organizations, professional associations, disease-specific groups, service organizations, government agencies, and corporations.

For more information, visit their web site at www.caregiving.org. You may also contact the Alliance by e-mail at info@caregiving.org.

National Family Caregivers Association

The National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) educates, supports, empowers, and speaks up for the more than 50 million Americans who care for loved ones with a chronic illness, disability or the frailties of old age. NFCA reaches across the boundaries of diagnoses, relationships, and life stages to help transform family caregivers' lives by removing barriers to health and well-being.

NFCA's core Caring Every Day messages are:

Believe in Yourself.

Protect Your Health.

Reach Out for Help.

Speak Up for Your Rights.

For more information, visit their web site at www.thefamilycaregiver.org.

Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving

The Rosalynn Carter Institute establishes local, state, and national partnerships committed to building quality, long-term home- and community-based services. We believe strongly in the need to provide greater recognition and support for America's professional and family caregivers. Our focus includes supporting individuals and caregivers living with chronic illness and disability across the lifespan as well as limitations due to aging.

For more information, visit their web site at www.rosalynncarter.org.

United States Administration on Aging

The United States Administration on Aging (AoA) is the federal focal point and advocate agency for older persons and their concerns. In this role, AoA works to heighten awareness among other federal agencies, organizations, groups, and the public about the valuable contributions that older Americans make to the nation and alerts them to the needs of vulnerable older people.

Through information, referral and outreach efforts at the community level, AoA seeks to educate older people and their caregivers about the benefits and services available to help them.

For more information, visit their web site at www.aoa.gov.