VERMONT’S SUPPORT NETWORK
- Family Caregiver Support Program
Offers: Adult day, in-home, overnight and week-end respite options, capped at $100 to $1,500 per year; other services include counseling, education and training, information and assistance, support groups, family meetings, case management, legal and/or financial consultation, and transportation.
Funded by: National Family Caregiver Support Program under Older Americans Act Title III E and voluntary contributions; administered by Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living 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.
Offers: Adult day, in-home, overnight and weekend respite options, capped at $100 to $1,500 per year.
Funded by: Alzheimer’s Disease Demonstration Grant; administered by Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living and locally by area agencies on aging.
Eligibility: No minimum age for caregivers; recipients must have a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or related disorder.
- Caregiver Bridges (Pilot Project)
Offers: Linkage between family caregivers and case managers, eldercare clinicians, wellness programs and other supportive services.
Funded by: Alzheimer’s Disease Demonstration Grant; administered by Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living and locally by area agencies on aging in Addison, Chittenden and Franklin Counties.
Eligibility: No minimum age for caregivers; recipients must have a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or related disorder.
Offers: Adult day, in-home, overnight and weekend respite options and companion services, capped at 720 hours per year.
Funded by: 1115 Long Term Care Medicaid waiver; administered by Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living.
Eligibility: No minimum age for caregivers. Recipients must be a minimum of age 18 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 Vermont programs.
Funded by: Older Americans Act Title III E, state general revenues, and other sources. The Family Caregiver Support Program is administered by the Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living 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. Three of Vermont’s caregiver support programs currently offer some level of consumer direction.
- Family Caregiver Support Program offers a menu of services to meet the unique needs and preferences of caregivers, a voucher or budget for respite and direct payments to family caregivers for the purchase of goods or services; and permits family members to be paid to provide respite care.
- Dementia Respite Program offers a choice of respite providers and permits family members to be paid to provide respite care.
- Choices for Care Program offers a choice of respite providers and permits family members to be paid to provide respite care and personal care 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.
Contact
Maria Mireault, Dementia Project Director
Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living
103 S Main St. , Waterbury VT 05671-1601
Phone: 802-241-3738
Fax: 802-241-4224
