Wisconsin

WISCONSIN’S SUPPORT NETWORK

• Family Caregiver Support Program

Offers: Adult day, in-home, overnight and week-end/camp respite options, capped at 116 hours per year; other services include counseling, education and training, information and assistance, support groups, care management, family consultation and meetings, legal and/or financial consultation, transportation, assistive technology, minor home modification/repairs, and homemaker/chore/ personal care.

Funded by: National Family Caregiver Support Program under Older Americans Act Title III E; administered by Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, Bureau of Aging and Disability Resources and locally by area agencies on aging and county/tribal aging units.

Eligibility: Caregivers age 18 or older and live with the care recipient, who must be a minimum of age 60. Care recipients must be impaired in at least two activities of daily living to receive respite or supplemental services.

• Community Options Program Waiver

Offers: Adult day, in-home, overnight and week-end/camp respite options, with no service cap; other services include information and assistance, education and training, assessments, and care planning.

Funded by: Medicaid home and community-based services waiver; administered by Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, Bureau of Long-Term Support, and locally by county human services, social services or area agencies on aging.

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

• Alzheimer’s Family and Caregiver Support Program

Offers: Adult day and in-home or out-of-home respite options, capped at $4,000 per year; other services include care coordination, home care, home delivered meals, and equipment (e.g., security systems, lift chairs, specialized clothing).

Funded by: State general funds; administered by Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, Bureau of Aging and Disability Resources, and locally by county human service departments or county offices on aging.

Eligibility: No minimum age for caregivers. Care recipients must have a diagnosis of dementia or related disorder, a yearly income of less than $40,000, and agree to the cost-sharing provisions of the program.

• 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 Wisconsin programs.

Funded by: Older Americans Act Title III E, state general revenues, and other sources. The Family Caregiver Support Program is administered by the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, Bureau of Aging and Disability Resources, 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 Wisconsin caregiver support programs offer some level of consumer direction.

• The Family Caregiver Support Program offers a menu of services to meet the unique needs and preferences of caregivers, a choice of respite providers, a voucher or budget for respite and/or supplemental services, and direct payments to family members for the purchase of goods or services.
• Community Options Program Waiver offers a choice of respite providers and vouchers for respite care.
• Alzheimer’s Family and Caregiver Support Program offers a choice of service options and respite providers, a voucher or budget for respite and/or supplemental services, and direct payments to family members for the purchase of goods or 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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