North Carolina

NORTH CAROLINA’S SUPPORT NETWORK

• Family Caregiver Support Program

Offers: Adult day, in-home, and institutional respite options, with variable local caps; other services include counseling, information and assistance, homemaker/personal care, care management, consumable supplies, family consultation, home modification/repairs, legal and/or financial consultation, education and training, emergency response, and transportation.

Funded by: National Family Caregiver Support Program under Older Americans Act Title III E, state funds and voluntary contributions; administered by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Aging and Adult Services, and locally by area agencies on aging.

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

• Community Alternatives Program for Disabled Adults

Offers: Adult day health, in-home, and institutional respite options, capped at 30 days (or 720 hours) per year if respite is provided in a skilled nursing facility; other services include case management, medical supplies, family consultation, home modification, and emergency response.

Funded by: Medicaid home and community-based services waiver; administered by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Medical Assistance, and locally through county health departments and other government agencies and nonprofit organizations.

Eligibility: Minimum age for paid caregivers is 18; care recipients must be age 18 or older and physically disabled, have a diagnosis of dementia or related disorder and require supervision.

• Respite Care Program

Offers: Adult day, institutional and in-home respite options, with no cap on services; other services may include support groups and education and training.

Funded by: The state’s home and community care block grant, local funds, and client contributions; administered by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Aging and Adult Services, and locally by area agencies on aging under the state’s home and community care block grant.

Eligibility: Either the family caregiver or the care receiver must be age 60 or older. Care receivers must be age 18 or older and physically disabled, have a diagnosis of dementia or related disorder and/or require supervision.

• 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 North Carolina programs.

Funded by: Older Americans Act Title III E, state general revenues, and other sources. The Family Caregiver Support Program is administered by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Aging and Adult 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. All North Carolina caregiver support programs offer some level of consumer direction.

• Family Caregiver Support Program offers families the choice of respite providers or the use of vouchers or budgets for respite and/or supplemental services in some areas of the state. Family members may be paid to provide personal care and respite services.
• Community Alternatives Program for Disabled Adults permits family members to be paid to provide personal care, respite and homemaker/chore services if the family member is hired by a licensed home care agency.
• Respite Care Program permits family members to be paid to provide personal care, respite and homemaker/chore 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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