Utah

UTAH’S SUPPORT NETWORK

• Utah Caregiver Support Program

Offers: Adult day, in-home, overnight and weekend respite options, with a variable yearly cap; other services include care management, education and training, emergency response, homemaker/chore/ personal care, home modification/repairs, information and assistance, support groups, assistive technology, supplies, counseling, family consultation and family meetings, legal and/or financial consultation and transportation

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

Eligibility: Caregivers must be age 18 or older; 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.

• Medicaid Aging Waiver

Offers: Adult day health, in-home, and overnight respite options, with no cap on services; additional services include care management, education and training, emergency response, homemaker/chore/ personal care, home modification/repairs, assistive technology, medical equipment, supplies, and transportation.

Funded by: Medicaid home and community-based services waiver; administered by the Utah Department of Human Services/Division of Aging and Adult Services and locally by area agencies on aging.

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

• Home and Community-Based Alternatives

Offers: Adult day, in-home, overnight, or weekend respite options, capped at $750 per month; other services include case management, education and training, emergency response, homemaker/chore/ personal care, home modification/repairs, information and referral, and family consultation.

Funded by: State general funds; administered by the Utah Department of Human Service/Division of Aging and Adult Services and locally by area agencies on aging.

Eligibility: No minimum age for adult caregivers. Recipients must be a minimum of age 18 and have impairments in both activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living and meet financial eligibility 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 Utah programs.

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

• Utah Caregiver Support Program offers a menu of services and gives families a choice of respite providers.
• Medicaid Aging Waiver permits family members to be paid as personal attendants.
• Home and Community-Based Alternatives permits relative and other caregivers to be paid to provide 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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