Caregiver Service Providers: Working Together To Support Family Caregivers Emily Farah-Miller, Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging Kathy Gilbride, Central MN Council on Aging Leanna Smith, Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging
Session Objectives Learn how two Minnesota collaboratives share knowledge, promote caregiver services, and strengthen public policies for family caregivers. Learn steps to forming a caregiver collaboration, initiatives, and informational resources.
What is a caregiving coalition? A community of representatives that has come together to address the needs of family caregivers across the lifespan. Support family caregivers, both families of origin(s) or families of choice(s), with information and referral services, educational outreach and advocacy. Presents a united voice working to meet the complex social, medical, physical, financial, spiritual, and emotional needs of family caregivers. National Alliance on Caregiving defines it as. A coalition is made up of organizations and agencies that come together to support caregivers. It might be the town’s senior center, businesses, government, the local chapter of Alzheimer’s groups, hospitals and an AARP state chapter.
Establishing and Growing Your Family Caregiving Coalition Volume I Starting a coalition: creating a vision, mission, goals and objectives Volume II Maintaining the coalition: strategic planning, decision making, projects and activities (available Summer 2013) http://www.caregiving.org/wp-content /uploads/2013/03/PlantingTheSeed_FINAL.pdf
Coalition Initiatives Caregiver Coalition of San Diego Free weekly webinars to caregivers and workplace education AZ Caregiver Coalition Statewide access point Caregiver Resource Line Caregiving Coalition of Northeast Florida Monthly newsletter and workshops Caregiver Coalition of San Diego: California group offers free weekly webinars to caregivers along with web videos and seminars. Topic experts (Medicare, legal sources, wellness resources, conversations around difficult topics) will come to a company during lunchtime and give a presentation to employees. Trained volunteers are ready to listen and work with you to find the resources you are seeking! What makes these groups so effective is that NAC connects coalitions with one another. The coalitions share strategies and mentor one another. There are quarterly calls, an e-newsletter and webcasts. NAC will also give a coalition one-on-one counseling. Every year, NAC holds a family caregiving coalition conference. At its 2013 meeting this March in Chicago, NAC rolled out a guide to help organizations start their own family coalition.
Coalition Initiatives Coalition of Caring in New Hampshire Annual statewide conference for family caregivers Hawaii Family Caregiver Coalition Aging & Disability Issues 2013: A Guide for Hawaii’s Legislators, Organizations and Citizens Educates legislators and the community about caregiving issues Caregiver Coalition of San Diego: California group offers free weekly webinars to caregivers along with web videos and seminars. Topic experts (Medicare, legal sources, wellness resources, conversations around difficult topics) will come to a company during lunchtime and give a presentation to employees. Trained volunteers are ready to listen and work with you to find the resources you are seeking! What makes these groups so effective is that NAC connects coalitions with one another. The coalitions share strategies and mentor one another. There are quarterly calls, an e-newsletter and webcasts. NAC will also give a coalition one-on-one counseling. Every year, NAC holds a family caregiving coalition conference. At its 2013 meeting this March in Chicago, NAC rolled out a guide to help organizations start their own family coalition.
Coalition Initiative Resources Caregiver Coalition of San Diego www.caregivercoalitionsd.org AZ Caregiver Coalition www.azcaregiver.org Caregiving Coalition of Northeast Florida www.mycaregiverconnection.org Coalition of Caring NH www.coalitionofcaring.org Hawaii Family Caregiver Coalition www.caregiving.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/ Booklet-Aging-Issues-2013_Hawaii-FC-Coalition.pdf
National Alliance for Caregiving Sign up for the Caregiving Exchange E-Newsletter and listserv Quarterly Family Caregiving Coalition Webinar Recorded and available on website Technical Assistance Host Annual National Conference for Caregiving Coalitions www.caregiving.org/coalitions