National Family Caregiver Support Program
(OAA Title IIIE)
Authorizing Legislation: Section 371 of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended
The Purpose of the Program and How it Works
The National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP), established in 2000, provides grants to States and Territories, based on their share of the population aged 70 and over, to fund a range of supports that assist family and informal caregivers to care for their loved ones at home for as long as possible.
Families are the major provider of long-term care, but research has shown that caregiving exacts a heavy emotional, physical and financial toll. Many caregivers who work and provide care experience conflicts between these responsibilities. Twenty two percent of caregivers are assisting two individuals, while eight percent are caring for three or more. Almost half of all caregivers are over age 50, making them more vulnerable to a decline in their own health, and one-third describe their own health as fair to poor.
The NFCSP offers a range of services to support family caregivers. Under this program, States shall provide five types of services:
- information to caregivers about available services,
- assistance to caregivers in gaining access to the services,
- individual counseling, organization of support groups, and caregiver training,
- respite care, and
- supplemental services, on a limited basis
These services work in conjunction with other State and Community-Based Services to provide a coordinated set of supports. Studies have shown that these services can reduce caregiver depression, anxiety, and stress and enable them to provide care longer, thereby avoiding or delaying the need for costly institutional care.
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Data Highlight Extensive Services Provided to Caregivers
FY 2007, Caregiver funding enabled States to serve 686,030 caregivers. Output data for the National Family Caregiver Support Program show that the services caregivers received from this program helped them manage their caregiving responsibilitie
- Access Assistance Services provided approximately 1.3 million contacts to caregivers assisting them in locating services from a variety of private and voluntary agencies.
- Counseling and Training Services provided over 148,000 caregivers with counseling, peer support groups, and training to help them better cope with the stresses of caregiving.
- Respite Care Services provided more than 73,000 with 8.4 million hours with temporary relief – at home, or in an adult day care or institutional setting – from their caregiving responsibilities.
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Data from AoA’s national surveys of caregivers of elderly clients shows:
- OAA services, including those provided through the National Family Caregiver Support Program, are effective in helping caregivers keep their loved ones at home;
- 57 percent of caregivers of program clients report that services definitely enabled them to provide care longer than otherwise would have been possible, and 77 percent reported that the services have “helped a lot”;
- Nearly half the caregivers of nursing home eligible care recipients indicated that the care recipient would be unable to remain at home without the support services;
To obtain more information about the services caregivers received, visit the AGing Integrated Database (AGID), an on-line query system based on AoA-related data files and surveys, and includes population characteristics from the Census Bureau for comparison purposes. The system allows users to produce customized tables in a step-by-step process and output the results in print or spreadsheet form. Information on NFCSP services and recipients is available through this database.
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Funding History
Funding for Family Caregiver Support Services during the past four years is as follows:
| FY 2005 |
$155,744,000 |
| FY 2006 |
$156,060,000 |
| FY 2007 |
$156,167,000 |
| FY 2008 |
$153,439,000 |
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Resources and Useful Links
Family Caregiver Alliance - National Center on Caregiving
Established in 2001 as a program of the Family Caregiver Alliance, the National Center on Caregiving (NCC) works to advance the development of high-quality, cost-effective policies and programs for caregivers in every state in the country. Uniting research, public policy and services, the NCC serves as a central source of information on caregiving and long-term care issues for policy makers, service providers, media, funders and family caregivers throughout the country.
National Alliance for Caregiving
Established in 1996, The National Alliance for Caregiving is a non-profit coalition of national organizations focusing on issues of family caregiving. Alliance members include grassroots organizations, professional associations, service organizations, disease-specific organizations, a government agency, and corporations.
The Alliance was created to conduct research, do policy analysis, develop national programs, increase public awareness of family caregiving issues, work to strengthen state and local caregiving coalitions, and represent the US caregiving community internationally. Recognizing that family caregivers provide important societal and financial contributions toward maintaining the well-being of those they care for, the Alliance's mission is to be the objective national resource on family caregiving with the goal of improving the quality of life for families and care recipients.
Eldercare Locator
The Eldercare Locator, a public service of the U.S. Administration on Aging, is the first step to finding resources for older adults in any U.S. community. Just one phone call or Website visit provides an instant connection to resources that enable older persons to live independently in their communities. The service links those who need assistance with state and local area agencies on aging and community-based organizations that serve older adults and their caregivers.
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| Last Modified: 7/16/2009 8:53:53 AM |
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