Connecticut

CONNECTICUT’S SUPPORT NETWORK

• Family Caregiver Support Program

Offers: Adult day, in-home, overnight and weekend/camp respite options, capped at $3,500 per year; other services include assistive technology, care management, supplies, education and training, emergency response, counseling, homemaker/chore/personal care, home modification/repairs, information and assistance, legal and/or financial consultation, support groups and transportation.

Funded by: National Family Caregiver Support Program under Older Americans Act Title III E; administered by the Connecticut Department of Social Services, Bureau of Aging, Community and Social Work Services, and locally by area agencies on aging.

Eligibility: Caregivers of older recipients must be age 18 years or older. Care recipients must be age 60 or older and have impairment in two or more activities of daily living for respite/supplemental services and a diagnosis of dementia or related disorder and/or require supervision.

• Home Care Program for Elders

Offers: Adult day, in-home, overnight and weekend/respite options, with no cap on services; other services include care management, counseling, emergency response, homemaker/personal care/chore, home modification/repairs, information and assistance, and transportation.

Funded by: Medicaid home and community-based services waiver and state general funds; operated locally by five Access Agencies (two area agencies on aging and three Connecticut Community Care agencies).

Eligibility: No minimum age for caregivers; care recipients must be a minimum of age 65, impaired in at least one activity of daily living and/or need nursing home level of care.

• Statewide Alzheimer’s Respite Care Program

Offers: Adult day, in-home, overnight and weekend/camp respite options, capped at $3,500 per year; other services include education and training, family consultation, information and assistance, and support groups.

Funded by: State general funds and client contributions; operated locally by area agencies on aging in partnership with the Connecticut chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Eligibility: No minimum age for caregivers or care receivers.  Care recipients must have a diagnosis of dementia or related disorder and require supervision.

• Personal Care Assistance State-Funded Pilot Program

Offers: Adult day, in-home, overnight and weekend/camp respite options, capped at $4,067 per month; other services include counseling, emergency response, family meetings, homemaker/chore/personal care, and home modification/repairs.

Funded by: Medicaid home and community-based services waiver; operated locally by regional departments of social services.

Eligibility: Caregivers must be age 18 or older. Care recipients must be age 18 to 64 and have impairment in two activities of daily living.

• Grandparent and Other Relative Caregiver Support Programs

Offers: Respite care and other support services designed to address the needs of grandparent and other relative caregivers of children. See www.gu.org/factsheets.asp for details on Connecticut programs.

Funded by: Older Americans Act Title III E, state general revenues, and other sources. The Family Caregiver Support Program is administered by the Connecticut Department of Social Services Bureau of Aging, Community and Social Work Services, and locally by area agencies on aging.

Eligibility: Grandparent and other relative caregivers must be a minimum of age 60 and caring for a child age 18 or younger to receive services in the Family Caregiver Support Program.

CONSUMER DIRECTION

Consumer direction is a philosophy that accommodates people’s needs and preferences by offering them maximum choice and control over services they use. Each of Connecticut’s caregiver support programs offers some level of consumer direction.

• The Family Caregiver Support Program offers a voucher or budget for respite and/or supplemental services, and families have a choice of respite providers.
• Home Care Program for Elders offers a menu of services from which caregivers may choose.
• Statewide Alzheimer’s Respite Care Program permits family members to be paid to provide personal care services.
• Personal Care Assistance State-Funded Pilot Program permits family members to be paid to provide homemaker/chore/personal care.

LEGISLATION

• CT H.B. 6909 (Enacted 2001): Required state agencies to include family caregiver support in all programs that provide long-term care supports.
• CT H.B. 6151 (Enacted 2003): Requires businesses to authorize the use of sick time for family leave.
• CT H.B. 6438 (Enacted 2005): Restores Husky Plan, Part A benefits to parents and needy caretaker relatives with income not exceeding 150 percent of the federal poverty level.

Sources: National Association of State Units on Aging, e-mail survey of State Family Caregiver Support Program contacts, Washington, D.C., June 2005; National Center on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren at Georgia State University, Research—Fact Sheets, Atlanta, Ga., 2005; Feinberg, Lynn Friss, et al., The State of the States in Family Caregiver Support: A 50-State Study, Washington, D.C.: Family Caregiver Alliance, National Center on Caregiving, 2004; Generations United, National Center on Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children, State Fact Sheets, Washington, D.C., October 2003; National Family Caregivers Association, Prevalence and Economic Value of Family Caregiving: State-by-State Analysis, Kensington, Md., 2000; U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000.

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