Rhode Island

RHODE ISLAND’S SUPPORT NETWORK

• Partners in CaRIng

Offers: Adult day, in-home, and overnight respite options, capped at 120 hours per year for non-Alzheimer’s disease caregivers and at 240 hours per year for caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease; other services include assistive technology, care management, education and training, family consultation and family meetings, information and assistance, legal and/or financial consultation, and support groups.

Funded by: National Family Caregiver Support Program under Older Americans Act Title III E, federal Alzheimer’s Disease Demonstration Grants, state general funds, and client contributions; administered by the Rhode Island Department of Elderly Affairs and locally by grantee agencies.

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.

• Home and Community-Based Waiver

Offers: Care management, family consultation, and information and assistance services that may be of benefit to caregivers.

Funded by: Medicaid home and community-based services waiver and state general funds; administered at the state and local levels by the Rhode Island Department of Elderly Affairs.

Eligibility: No minimum age for caregivers; recipients must be a minimum of age 65 and meet nursing home level of care criteria.

• 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 Rhode Island programs.

Funded by: Older Americans Act Title III E, state general revenues, and other sources. The Family Caregiver Support Program is administered by the Rhode Island Department of Elderly Affairs and by local grantees.

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. In Rhode Island, one program offers consumer direction.

• Partners in CaRIng offers a menu of services from which caregivers may choose, including hiring their own respite care worker. Family members who do not reside with the care recipient may be hired as respite workers.

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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