This collection is a work in progress. Please email us at familysupport@aed.org to suggest additional resources.
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Holding a Family Meeting
The Family Caregiver Alliance has many fact sheets that help educate family caregivers. Check out this one on how to hold a constructive and productive family meeting to discuss the care needs of a family member.
10 Practical Tips for Caring for Someone with Alzheimer's or Dementia
This educational guide is written for those caring for loved ones with Alzheimer's or Dementia, and has good information for anyone in the caregiving role.
Top Ten Questions on CaregivingAre you a caregiver or are you about to become one? This resource is a great reference for providing answers to the most frequently asked questions about caregiving.
http://www.familycaregiving101.org/top_10/
Tip Sheet for Providers: Caregiving Education
Did you know that Medicare will pay for certain types of family caregiver education? Read this tip sheet to find out more, and share it with your loved one's physician.
Employment and Caregiving: Is There a Balance?
Most businesses and many employees may one day face the issue of elder care. What things can help both the employer and the employee?
Life Advice About....Caring for an Aging Loved One
This publication from Metlife describes ways to assess a loved one's needs and how to develop a care plan, organize important documents and what role to take in providing support.
http://www.metlife.com/individual/life-advice/health-issues/aging-parents/index.html
Aging: Older Adults with Intellectual Disabilities and Their Aging Caregivers
Since people with disabiliites are now living longer, families may have questions about aging and developmental disabilities. This question and answer document has some good information for caregivers and families.
Eldercare Locator
Are you having trouble finding resources and services for an elderly loved one? The Eldercare Locator can help find local resources that help with things such as transportation, meals, home care, caregiver support, and more.
Three Life Skills Children Can Learn When Mom or Dad is a Caregiver
What are three important life skills children can learn from watching their parent(s) as caregivers? This article is about elder care, but also applies to siblings when parents are caring for a child with a disability. It will help the caregiver see some of the positive benefits for her/his family.
Caregivers of Older People
This video for caregivers from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and highlights the state and local resources available to caregivers. It is long (about 18 minutes), but very useful.
Common Questions From Family CaregiversThe Duke Family Support Program answers common questions for family caregivers helping seniors with Alzheimer's or dementia. Although the resources listed are in North Carolina, most states have similar agencies.
http://www.geri.duke.edu/service/dfsp/faq.htm
Who Will Care?
Direct care support is something many individuals with disabilities need in order to live meaningful lives in the community. Many families are concerned about the high turnover of direct care support staff, and how this affects their family member, as well as the family caregivers. This website will help visitors understand the role of direct support professionals. It addresses their concerns, the needs and concerns of those they support, as well as offering possible solutions to challenges.
Create a Community of Care: Lotsa Helping Hands
If you are a caregiver for a loved one, this free service from the National Family Caregiver Association could totally change your life. As explained on the site,"a Coordinator can create, free-of-charge, a private and secure Lotsa Helping Hands web community, define volunteer activities using the supplied templates, and begin inviting members to the community. Through an intuitive interface that requires no training, volunteers can then easily view and sign up for any number of available tasks, review their current commitments, and be confident they won’t forget any assignments as the system automatically sends out email reminders of upcoming obligations." It could relieve a lot of stress, so check it out.
http://nfca.lotsahelpinghands.com/how/
Respite Care: Understanding, Finding and Using Caregiver Relief
Are you one of the many people who think respite care is only available for children?Think again. This Help Guide has a wealth of information on respite care for adults and elders. It has basic information on what respite care is, talks about the different types, how to select and pay for respite, useful links and more.
Finding and Choosing Respite Care Services and Providers
Did you know that respite care is not just for children? It is also available for adults. This helps the well-being of the caregiver. Look at this website for lots of information on respite.
Care for the Family Caregiver: A Place to Start
This caregiving publication can be downloaded, and has sections on things such as personal stories, legal issues, financial issues, transitions in caregiving, training, caregiver health, and more. It also provides additional resources. Share this with someone you know.
Family Caregiving 101
This website is designed to provide caregivers with the basic tools, skills and information they need to protect their own physical and mental health while they provide high quality care for their loved one.
http://www.familycaregiving101.org/
Caregiver Depression: A Growing Mental Health Concern
Caregiving can be stressful and those caring for elderly relatives can experience depression. This policy brief from the Family Caregiver Alliance, of the National Center on Caregiving, offers good information on the role of caregivers and the need for policies that support them.
Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving's Evidence-Based Caregiver Intervention Resource Center
Want to find out about "science that works"? This web site talks about evidence-based interventions to improve the health and well-being of caregivers.
X-Plain: Managing Stress
All families have demands on their time and energy, and some times caretakers and individuals with disabilities additional demands that cause stress. Learn how to alleviate stress and improve your mental health.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/
managingstress/hp069102.pdf
Audio Interview with New Assistant Secretary for Aging Kathy Greenlee
The new Assistant Secretary for Aging, Kathy Greenlee, has expressed support for family caregivers and has promised to prioritize them in the Administration on Aging. Listen to this audio interview Greenlee talks about caregiving, respite and resources. Go to the Caregiver.com audio page and click on the third interview.
Family Caregivers and Leisure: An Oxymoron?
Caregivers often toss out their leisure and recreational time because of the many demands of caregiving. This study talks about that and has some suggestions for how recreation professionals can help caregivers find time to relax and participate in recreational activities.
Caregivers of Older People
This video for caregivers from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and highlights the state and local resources available to caregivers. It is long (about 18 minutes), but very useful.
Family Care Navigator
State-by-state help for family caregivers as well as those being cared for can be found in the Family Care Navigator which lists government, nonprofit, and private programs as well as legal resources. There's a Frequently Asked Questions section, too.
Resources and Benefits for Caregivers
Excellent list of resources for caregivers. This is three pages chock full of information about where and how to find help for caregivers. You'll want to keep this handy to refer to.
Family Caregivers Alliance: Assistive Technology (AT)
This website has all kinds of information on AT, including how and where to find independent living aids and adaptive equipment, home and vehicle modifications, possible funding sources, and more. It's definitely worth a look.
A Big Present That Just Keeps On GivingSylvia Williams was looking forward to being an empty-nester. Then she became guardian for her grandson, Chequan, who happens to have Down syndrome. Find out about her life, and the support she gives to Chequan and to his father in this personal story from our website.
http://www.familysupportclearinghouse.org/stories/Pages/swilliams.aspx