Georgia

GEORGIA’S SUPPORT NETWORK

• Family Caregiver Support Program

Offers: Adult day, in-home, overnight and weekend/camp respite options, with no cap on services; other services include care management, homemaker/chore/personal, information and assistance, assistive technologies, supplies, counseling, education and training, home modification/repairs, legal and/or financial consultation and support groups.

Funded by: National Family Caregiver Support Program under Older Americans Act Title III E and state general funds; administered by the Georgia Department of Human Resources/ Division of Aging Services and locally by area agencies on aging.

Eligibility: No minimum age for caregivers; care receivers must be age 60 or older. Care recipients must 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.

• Community Care Services Program

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

Funded by: Medicaid home and community- based services waiver; administered at the state level by the Georgia Department of Human Resources/Division of Aging Services and locally by area agencies on aging.

Eligibility: No minimum age for caregivers or care receivers; care receivers must meet a nursing home level of care.

• 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 Georgia programs.

Funded by: Older Americans Act Title III E, state general revenues, and other sources. The Family Caregiver Support Program is administered by the Georgia Department of Human Resources/Division of Aging Services and locally by area agencies on aging.

Eligibility: Grandparent and other relative caregivers of any age and caring for a child age 18 or younger, or caring for functionally impaired, dependent adults over age 18 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.

• Family Caregiver Support Program offers caregivers a menu of services from which to choose, a voucher or budget for respite and/or supplemental services, direct payments for the purchase of goods or services, and a choice of respite providers.  Family members also may be paid to provide personal care and/or respite services.

LEGISLATION

None related to caregiving

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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