Virginia

VIRGINIA’S SUPPORT NETWORK

• Family Caregiver Support Program

Offers: Adult day, in-home, overnight and weekend/camp respite options, with no cap on services; other services include assistive technology, care management, supplies, counseling, education and training, emergency response, family consultation, home modification/repairs, support groups, homemaker/chore/personal care, information and assistance, legal and/or financial consultation, and transportation.

Funded by: National Family Caregiver Support Program under Older Americans Act Title III E; administered by the Virginia Department for the Aging 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.

• Elderly and Disabled Waiver

Offers: Adult day, in-home, overnight, and weekend/camp respite options, capped at 720 hours per year; other services include care management, education and training, and homemaker/chore/personal care.

Funded by: Medicaid home and community-based services waiver, Real Choice Systems Change Grant, and state general funds; administered at the state level by the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services and locally by county health departments.

Eligibility: Caregivers must be a minimum of age 18; no minimum age for care recipients who must meet nursing home level of care.

• Respite Care Initiative Grant

Offers: Adult day and in-home respite options, capped at 35 hours per month; other services include homemaker/chore/personal care.

Funded by: State general revenues and local county funds and client contributions; administered at the state level by the Virginia Department for the Aging and locally by area agencies on aging, Adult Care of Central Virginia, and Commonwealth Catholic Charities.

Eligibility: No minimum age for caregivers. Care recipients must be age 60 or older and have a diagnosis of dementia or related disorder and/or require supervision.

• Respite Care Grant Program 2003

Offers: Adult day respite, with no cap on services, and transportation.

Funded by: State general revenues and other public and/or private funds, and client contributions; administered at the state level by the Virginia Department for the Aging and locally by area agencies on aging, the Alzheimer’s Family Day Center, and Bedford Hospital.

Eligibility: No minimum age for caregivers. Care recipients must meet a nursing home level of care and/or be physically disabled.

• 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 Virginia programs.

Funded by: Older Americans Act Title III E, state general revenues, and other sources. The Family Caregiver Support Program is administered by the Virginia Department for the Aging 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. At the present time, one program offers a consumer-directed option for caregivers.

• The Elderly and Disabled Waiver offers consumer-directed attendant care, gives families a choice of respite providers, and permits family members to be paid to provide personal care and/or respite services.

LEGISLATION

• VA H.B. 2519 (Enacted 2003): Requires the Department for the Aging to link families that are caring for people with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders with Virginia chapters of the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association; provide information and counseling; and make referrals to service programs that may support individuals and families dealing with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders.
• VA S.B. 935 (Enacted 2005): Extends through December 31, 2010, the period of time for which grants under the Caregivers Grant Program can be provided.

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