RAISE Act Council Offers National Caregiver Support StrategyA 102-page report marks the RAISE Act Family Caregiving Advisory Council’s September completion of the first-of-its-kind National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers. The product of extensive deliberation and analysis of expert contributions, the report includes substantial background information on the current landscape of family caregiving, as well as many proposed federal, state and local actions in support of caregivers. The proposals are organized under five major goals:
The ACL website provides access to the entire document and supporting materials. Comments from the public are encouraged through the deadline of November 30. Publication of the national strategy has been met by enthusiastic reactions across the caregiving spectrum, including the Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA). “We share the authors’ hope,” FCA stated, “that as the Strategy is implemented—and as the nation more fully comes to understand and respond to the challenges faced by family caregivers—society will embrace the cultural and policy shifts necessary to support them. As a result, over time, lawmakers likely will be called upon to propose legislative changes to better support family caregivers. This is a historic moment for family caregiving because, as the Strategy introduction states, ‘This is the first time that ideas from local and state agencies and nonprofit organizations are integrated with recommendations for the federal government in a combined initiative dedicated to family caregiving. The development of these lists also represents the first time that agencies across the federal government have formally worked together to coordinate family caregiver support planning.’” |