New York State Poised and Ready for New Caregiving Initiative Contained in Obama's State of the Union Address

• by New York State Office for the Aging

ALBANY, NY (01/26/2010)(readMedia)-- On Wednesday when President Obama presents his State of the Union Address to Congress, he's expected to announce an important new initiative to help middle class families who provide care to older relatives so that they may remain in their homes and communities of choice.

An estimated 38 million Americans provide unpaid care to an aging relative, including approximately 23 million caregivers with jobs and 12 million who are also caring for their own children. The $102.5 million Caregiver Initiative that will be included in the President's address will ease the burden on families with elder care responsibilities and allow seniors to live in the community for as long as possible. The Initiative adds $52.5 million in funding to Department of Health and Human Services caregiver support programs that provide temporary respite care, counseling, training, and referrals to critical services.

According to Michael J. Burgess, Director of the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA,) it is possible that New York State will receive upwards of $8.0 million of new funding through this initiative. "New York's network of area agencies on aging and its partners have the infrastructure in place to make maximum use of these new funds as soon as they become available. Each local office for the aging has a core set of programs and services that are designed to help family caregivers," Burgess said.

The county offices for aging, through their New York Elder Caregiver Support Programs, provide respite services, counseling, training and other support services to help caregivers maintain their well-being so that they can perform their important support function to family members needing assistance. In New York State, there are over 2.2 million informal caregivers and at any point in the year, 3.1 million New Yorkers are caregivers who provide direct care to persons of all ages with disabilities. This care is valued at $25 billion if paid for at the market rate. It is also estimated that caregivers save the state Medicaid program over $12 billion per year.

The extra funding will allow nearly 200,000 additional caregivers to be served and 3 million more hours of respite care to be provided. It also adds $50 million to programs that provide transportation help, adult day care, and in-home services, such as aides to help seniors bathe and cook, help which eases the burden for family members and helps seniors stay in their homes.

Over 80% of all long-term care is provided by family members, friends and neighbors, saving New York State billions in health care and long-term care costs each year. Consequently, caregivers remain an integral part of health and long-term care in New York State; without them, direct costs would incur to the state's Medicaid program.

For more information about State Office for the Aging programs and services to help family caregivers visit: http://www.aging.ny.gov/NYSOFA/Programs/CaregiverSVCS/NYHomeCaregivers.cfm