1. and National Family Caregiver Support Program
Alzheimer’s Family Caregiver Support Program
and
National Family Caregiver Support Program
Wisconsin has two family caregiver support programs:
Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Family Caregiver Support Program (AFCSP – State GPR)
National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP – Title III-E Older Americans Act)

2. The Focus is CAREGIVERs
The National Family Caregiver Support Program is a unique program because it provides resources for people who are caring for another individual. Providing these unpaid family, friends and neighbors with education and supports is vitally important to maintaining their health and emotional well-being, which in turn enables them to continue providing care for extended periods of time. Without these caregivers to help, many older adults could not remain living at home.

3. Important deadlines
Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Family Caregiver Support Program (AFCSP)
2019 Budgets due to DHS by November 30, 2018
Fiscal Reports for CY 2018 due to DHS by March 30, 2019
National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP)
Budgets due to GWAAR in November
Budgets due to DHS late November
BOTH PROGRAMS
Data from Caregiver Needs Assessments and Pre & Post Program Evaluations must be submitted to DHS every six months
Customer Satisfaction Surveys should be distributed to caregivers within a month of enrolling in either caregiver support program. Participant responses are submitted to DHS via the online survey or can be mailed directly to the State Office on Aging in Madison.

4. NFCSP - Minimum Service Requirements
Federal policy requires that five NFCSP services must be available:
Information to caregivers about available services
Assistance to caregivers in gaining access to services
Individual counseling, support groups and training for caregivers
Respite care to temporarily relieve caregivers from their responsibilities
Supplemental services that complement care provided or make it possible for the older adult live safely in the community

5. NFCSP Enrollment There are two forms Caregiver Initial Intake Form
Care Recipient Initial Intake Form
Forms are on the GWAAR website> Technical Assistance>Family Caregiver Support> National Family Caregiver Support Program>Documentation and Forms

6. To pay for respite using NFCSP, both forms (caregiver and care recipient) must be completed. Make notations so that you have formal documentation that the care recipient is indeed “frail” and therefore qualifies for respite and supplemental services. Having this paperwork completed and on-file also enables staff to move quickly if additional services need to be approved in the future.

7. NFCSP Restrictions
The amount of funding spent on Supplemental Services must not exceed 20% of the county’s total NFCSP expenditures.
The amount of funding spent on Grandparents and Relative Caregivers for children 18 and under must not exceed 10% of the county’s total expenditures.
Respite care can only be provided on a limited basis, meaning that a caregiver may not receive more than 112 hours of respite care each year.

8. Wisconsin Alzheimer's Family Caregiver Support Program (AFCSP)
ELIGIBLIITY
1. Diagnosis of probable irreversible dementia: Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, Parkinson’s with dementia, Pick’s disease, mixed or undetermined dementia, etc.
2. Person lives at home, or to provide limited services for people living in a CBRF, RCAC or Independent Living arrangement. (Not room & board or items a facility is contracted to provide)
3. $48,000 max gross income of person & spouse
4. Cannot be enrolled in NFCSP at the same time or receiving caregiver respite through Family Care
5. No asset test

9. AFCSP Enrollment
Form is available at:

10. MEETING & SERVING CAREGIVERS

11. THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT – A GUIDE FOR DISCUSSION
Use the Caregiver Needs Assessment to better understand the family’s situation and help caregivers prioritize their needs.
Will be adding emotional health section for 2019

12. ALWAYS EXPLAIN AND OFFER RESPITE The average person does not understand what respite services entail. Families are often unaware that professional respite providers are available to help with home chores and maintenance, stay at home with the person in their care, or that the person they care for is eligible for a short-term stay at a care facility. Become aware of, and connected to, respite providers in your community. Respite can allow caregivers to attend family functions, participate in social activities and avoid the isolation that often leads to depression.

13. Pre and post Evaluations
1. Administer pre evaluation at or near the same time as the Needs Assessment. (No more than 30 days after enrolling in the program) 2. Give participants the post evaluation about six month later, or when services end. 3. Only one pre and one post evaluation per participant no matter how long they remain enrolled.

14. AFCSP Policy changes Non-Nursing Home Level of Care – AFCSP eligible
No Cost Share Requirement
Future Change Expected: Families may be allowed to choose AFCSP instead of being required to access caregiver supports through managed long term care programs. (Family Care, IRIS, etc.)