|
|
National Family Caregiving Awards->Awards 2007
The National Alliance for Caregiving &
MetLife Foundation
2007 Family Caregiving Awards
Background Non-profit programs around the country applied for the awards in the categories of caregiver support, caregiver education, and technology—either as a small community (with a population of 100,000 or fewer) or a large community (100,001 or more). Their detailed applications addressed a battery of questions and were judged in the following categories: innovation, effectiveness or impact, basis in research, diversity, and potential for replication or adaptability. The following programs were chosen as the award winners. The awards were presented at the N4A Annual Conference and Tradeshow in San Francisco on July 31, 2007. View group photo.
Award Recipients
For Caregiver Support
A Space of Beauty Journaling Program
Southern Caregiver Resource Center
San Diego, California
Home Educator Program
Alzheimer's Family Services of Greater Beaufort
Beaufort, South Carolina
For Caregiver Education
Powerful Tools for Caregivers
Legacy Caregiver Services
Portland, Oregon
JustCare: Caregiver Education Project
The House of Justice - Bet Tzedek Legal Services
Los Angeles, California
For Caregiver Education and Excellence in Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support
The Alzheimer's Caregiver Series
Montana State University Extension
Bozeman, Montana
For Technology
Long-Term Care Choices for Seniors, Families, and Caregivers
MinnesotaHelp Network
Rochester, Minnesota
Honorable Mention Programs
Telephone Support Groups
Senior Services of Albany
Albany, New York
Drop-In Respite and Co-op
Asian Community Center
Sacramento, California
Program Descriptions
A Space of Beauty Journaling Program
Southern Caregiver Resource Center
San Diego, California
In the Category of Caregiver Support
(Large Community)
This innovative program brings volunteer artists together with caregivers to create custom-made journals—each a piece of art—with unique prompts to help caregivers find their voice by providing a safe place to write down their passions, hopes, new ideas, and worries.
Southern Caregiver Resource Center (SCRC) took an uplifting, new approach to reducing risk factors of caregiving, such as emotional and physical isolation, loss of self-esteem, fear, guilt, and anger. Three years ago, SCRC initiated a journaling program called A Space of Beauty, which has made numerous positive changes in the daily lives of caregivers participating in the program. This is no ordinary journaling program. Each unique journal is a piece of art created by an artist and specific to each caregiver.
San Diego artists generously volunteer their time and talent to create individual journals to help support current caregivers on their complex journey. These journals are filled with journaling prompts to encourage writing from the heart. The program includes a class called Steer With Your Pencil to help caregivers get started with putting their deepest thoughts down on paper.
The journals reflect caregivers’ passions, worries, hopes and dreams. Research shows writing is restorative and enhances a caregiver’s physical and mental heath, helps caregivers find their voice, clarifies, their thoughts, provides an opportunity to express gratitude, and helps caregivers be open to new resources in their communities. The journaling prompts that have made the most significant difference are those that help caregivers rediscover their past passions. Writing allows caregivers to step out of their current situation, see it more objectively, and find ways to reconnect with their passions.
Contact Person: Maggie Marshall, mmarshall@caregivercenter.org
Back to Top
Home Educator Program
Alzheimer's Family Services of Greater Beaufort
Beaufort, South Carolina
In the Category of Caregiver Support
(Small Community)
This program for caregivers of persons with dementia excels in rising to the challenge of providing comprehensive support for a rapidly growing, racially diverse, rural retirement community.
The Home Educator began seven years ago to provide support, education, counseling, and consultation for caregivers at home and in the community. The program was designed to create easy access to assistance and a full range of services for older persons and their caregivers. The goal of the program is to make the caregiver’s life easier and relieve some of the stress associated with the caregiving responsibility. Many caregivers served by the program live on the remote islands off the coast of Beaufort County. Because caregiving crosses all boundaries, this program responds to the mix of cultures, socio-economic backgrounds, and races within Beaufort County.
Home Educator staff meets with the caregiver in the privacy of their home to assess the need for services and the level of Alzheimer’s disease of the care recipient. Information about Alzheimer’s disease is reviewed, an application for services completed, and a medical report requested for the older adult and caregiver to register for one or more of the agency’s many support programs. Home Educator staff stays in close contact with the caregiver through weekly phone calls and follow-up meetings as needed. This contact is critical because of the emotional issues the caregiver confronts every day. Evening hours are available each day for caregivers to telephone the Home Educator staff for consultation or conversation. A sense of comfort, security, and responsiveness is extended to caregivers who are often lonely and isolated.
Contact: Maria Landry, afsgb@earthlink.net
Back to Top
Powerful Tools for Caregivers
Legacy Caregiver Services
Portland, Oregon
In the Category of Caregiver Education
(Large Community)
Powerful Tools for Caregivers is a highly effective educational program providing family caregivers with the skills and confidence to better care for themselves while caring for someone with a chronic illness.
Powerful Tools for Caregivers (PTC) consists of a six-week 2-1/2 hour program for up to 15 caregivers co-led by trained facilitators who employ a standardized curriculum. This program was developed over a three-year period of pilot testing, refinement, and evaluative research to assess the program’s effectiveness. Caregivers learn how to utilize community resources; better manage their stress; communicate effectively with friends, family and healthcare providers; cope with difficult emotions; and take steps to better care for themselves.
All PTC training materials including the class leaders’ script, flipcharts, presentations, video, relaxation exercises, and a supplemental guide written especially for the course are available in English and Spanish. A 90-minute six-week series and an on-line version of the program are also available. The six-week PTC class has been shown to have a significant positive impact on caregiver health for a diverse group of caregivers including spousal/partner caregivers, adult children and other family caregivers in a variety of settings, including those living in rural and ethnic minority communities. Data from class participant evaluations indicates: significant improvement in self-care behaviors, including exercise and use of relaxation techniques; increased ability to manage difficult emotions, including reduced anger, guilt, and depression; increased self-efficacy in coping with caregiving demands; and increased use of community services.
Powerful Tools for Caregivers is a national program sustained by extensive collaborations with community-based organizations. The program has reached more than 15,000 family caregivers in over 20 states.
Contact Person: Kathy Shannon, kshannon@lhs.org
Back to Top
JustCare: Caregiver Education Project
The House of Justice - Bet Tzedek Legal Services
Los Angeles, California
In the Category of Caregiver Education
(Large Community)
One of the nation’s premier caregiver legal aid programs, JustCare offers pioneering educational trainings and clinics to low-income disabled adults, caregivers, and professionals throughout Los Angeles County promoting knowledge about advance planning and protecting seniors' full and equal access to rights and justice.
JustCare: Caregiver Education Project offers highly innovative and effective strategies to address the major problems confronting low-income disabled and elderly Los Angelenos and their caregivers. JustCare has pioneered groundbreaking community models in legal literacy, and today is the leader in helping over 4,000 low-income disabled adults and their caregivers. JustCare’s pioneering approach of direct legal representation combined with outreach, education and training directly empowers vulnerable people with the knowledge and tools needed to protect their rights, gain full and equal access to justice, address basic legal issues on their own, and secure vital necessities like safe and affordable housing, fair wages, health care, and public benefits.
The JustCare program includes free multi-lingual workshops; innovative trainings for professionals and agencies who provide services to caregivers; publications such as The Caregiver Companion, a manual that addresses the most frequently encountered problems and issues regarding complex laws and regulations governing benefits available to caregivers and their elderly and disabled family members; one-stop legal clinics; and extensive outreach to isolated areas of Los Angeles City and County, ensuring that caregivers and their families have access to a wide array of educational materials, legal counseling, and other services in areas related to caregiver support. JustCare’s materials and publications reach an estimated 50,000-100,000 caregivers who would otherwise be forced to navigate complex healthcare, housing, and benefits information on their own.
Contact Person: Quintan Ana Wikswo, qwikswo@bettzedek.org
Back to Top
The Alzheimer's Caregiver Series
Montana State University Extension
Bozeman, Montana
In the Category of Caregiver Education and Excellence in Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support
(Small Community)
Developed by an interdisciplinary team in response to a community request, this highly successful educational program provides an effective approach in assisting rural caregivers cope with the multi-faceted aspects of Alzheimer's disease.
Since 2002, the Montana State University Extension Service has collaborated with the Alzheimer’s Association Montana Chapter to increase the awareness and support for family caregivers through assistance with conferences and participation on the board of directors. Although conferences on the topic of Alzheimer’s disease are held annually, the location and time away from caregiving precluded most rural caregivers from attending. This need led to a request to hold a conference in a rural area of the state.
Due to the rural nature of the state, Alzheimer’s patients and their families are often isolated with few resources and supports creating greater challenges for the caregiver. Because of this and based on feedback from community professionals/practitioners and constituents, it was decided that each topic specialist spend a week in an area of the state presenting his or her seminar in several communities. This allowed more caregivers to participate in the series without having to leave their communities. The result was the development of a five-week educational series—The Alzheimer’s Caregiving Series— using diverse effective adult educational strategies in two and a half hour seminars focusing on: an introduction to Alzheimer’s disease; family interactions and caregiver stress; nutrition; financial planning and legal issues; and Alzheimer’s proofing the home. Program evaluations indicate that caregiver participants have significantly increased their self-confidence in caregiving and feel much better prepared for their role as a caregiver.
Contact Person: Sandra Bailey, baileys@montana.edu
Back to Top
Long-Term Care Choices for Seniors, Families, and Caregivers
MinnesotaHelp Network
Rochester, Minnesota
In the Category of Technology
(Large Community)
Long-term Care Choices was developed to assist older Minnesotans and their caregivers to age well, live well, plan well and care well.
Developed through a collaborative effort among numerous aging and disability-related agencies and organizations, Long-term Care Choices is a widely used web-based decision tool for seniors, families, caregivers, and professionals. This tool can be used to identify needs, locate community services, and create a plan of care. People using Long-term Care Choices can learn about the various housing and care options available in Minnesota and receive a personal plan based on their needs. This program empowers caregivers to have more control in developing the care recipient’s care plan on a continuing basis. Anyone can use the tool at any time by logging onto www.longtermcarechoices.minnesotahelp.info.
Long-Term Care Choices is comprised of eight assessments; a section outlining housing options; a page to assist people relocate from a nursing home; and a guide called Next Steps for families who want to begin talking about long-term care needs. A completed assessment will generate a set of local service providers and add the service to a plan that is forming behind the scenes. When the user has completed the questions and selected services to meet their needs, the survey can be printed or saved. Information is stored on a secure server that can be accessed only with a valid login and password. Multiple plans can be developed for the same person to track conditions over time or a single plan can be modified as needs change.
Contact Person: Connie Bagley, connie@semaaarochestermn.org
Back to Top
Telephone Support Groups
Senior Services of Albany
Albany, New York
Honorable Mention
Caregiver Telephone Support Groups bring the support of peers and a professional social worker right to the caregiver, in the comfort and convenience of his or her own home.
Using teleconferencing technology to facilitate a support group eliminates barriers and allows group participation for many individuals otherwise unable to access such support. Caring for a loved one is often an isolating experience. Telephone Groups can reach caregivers isolated by distance, commitments, disability, transportation or social withdrawal. As operator of the teleconference, the group leader calls each group member and monitors the call via a webpage. Participants never navigate an automated system, have a charge on their phone bill, nor need any special equipment.
This technology is very effective, while at the same time inexpensive and user-friendly. Most agencies with caregiver programs sponsor support groups, but may struggle with issues of attendance, accessibility or reach. Such agencies can modify their existing program to include a telephone-based group using simple technology, which requires no up-front financial investment, and can train leaders with available manuals. The affordable, no-special-technical-abilities-needed and readily replicable qualities of this program set it apart from other support groups.
The results from a program evaluation indicated that adult children had increases in positive social interaction and emotional/informational support, effectiveness, knowledge of services, how to access services, and use of services. Adult child caregivers also had decreases in stress, strain and depression rates.
Contact Person: Tianna Pettinger, tpettinger@seniorservicesofalbany.com
Back to Top
Drop-In Respite and Co-op
Asian Community Center
Sacramento, California
Honorable Mention
Drawing from their experiences as mothers swapping babysitting with other mothers, a group of caregivers formed the Caregiver Cooperative Model (co-Op) that operates as a caregiver-volunteer respite program in which caregivers “earn and buy” respite time with other Co-op members.
The mission of the Asian Community Center (ACC) is to promote the general welfare and enhance quality of life by identifying, developing and providing culturally sensitive health and social services for older adults and their caregivers. In 2003, the caregivers of the ACC Drop-In Respite developed the Caregiver Cooperative Model (Co-op) as a means to expand respite services. Caregivers participating in the Drop-In Respite program formed the Co-op, which operates as a caregiver-volunteer respite program that “earns and buys” respite time with the Co-op.
The ACC challenged the traditional notion that respite is an opportunity for renewal where caregivers must break “away” from the care receiver. As Co-op members, family caregivers volunteer in the program once a month, equivalent to one respite day, in exchange for a full month of participation for their care receiver. Experiencing first-hand what the program is all about and by working collaboratively, Co-op members have control over how the program is run. They actively participate in, develop ways, and mutually experience creative ideas on ways to physically and mentally stimulate their loved ones at the program and at home.
Open to everyone, the Co-op delivers the respite program to Asians of Japanese, Chinese, and Filipino decent. Special characteristics of this service population lies in the disadvantages they face due to language barriers, cognitive and/or physical disabilities, and their unlikely willingness to access social and health services geared towards other population.
Contact Person: Doreene Hess, doreeneh@accsv.org
Back to Top
|
