Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA’S SUPPORT NETWORK

• Family Caregiver Support Program

Offers: Adult day, in-home, and overnight respite options, capped at $200 to $400 per quarter; other services may include information and assistance, counseling, education and training, and support groups.

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

Eligibility: No minimum age requirement for caregivers.  Care receivers must be age 60 and older and have impairment in two or more activities of daily living, have a diagnosis of dementia or related disorder, and/or require supervision to receive respite or supplemental services.

• Advantage Program

Offers: In-home and nursing facility respite options.

Funded by: Medicaid home and community-based services waiver; administered by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services/Aging Services Division and the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, the state Medicaid agency.

Eligibility: No minimum age for caregivers; care recipients must be a minimum of age 18 and meet nursing home level of care criteria.

• Respite Resource Network

Offers: Adult day, in-home, overnight, and weekend/camp respite options, capped at $1,600 per year.

Funded by: Older Americans Act Title III E, and state general funds; administered by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services/Aging Services Division.

Eligibility: Caregivers must be age 18 or older; care recipients must be age 60 and older and have impairment in two or more activities of daily living, 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 Oklahoma programs.

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

• Family Caregiver Support Program offers vouchers for respite services. Caregivers may hire respite providers according to their needs, choose the person or agency, the time and rate of pay (up to the total value of the vouchers issued).  Family members outside the home may be paid to provide respite services.
• Advantage Program permits family members outside the home to be paid to provide personal care services.
• Respite Resource Network offers vouchers for respite services.  Caregivers may hire providers according to their needs, choose the person or agency, the time and rate of pay (up to the total value of the vouchers issued). Family members outside the home may be paid to provide respite services.

LEGISLATION

• OK H.B. 2300 (Enacted 2004): Provides assistance to families with a Medicaid-eligible member who requires longterm support services or to Medicaid-eligible individuals who require long-term support services, so they may remain at home or with their families.

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.

Contact