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Caregiver Support
Caregivers
An April 2004 report by the National Alliance for Caregiving and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), Caregiving in the U.S., estimates that there were 44.4 million people in the United States age 18 and older, or 21% of the total population, who provide unpaid care to friends or relatives age 18 or over, in nearly 23 millions U.S. households. Typically over 60% of U.S. caregivers were females, half between the ages of 18-49 years; and spend a weekly average of 20 hours or more providing care; and have some college education. Younger caregivers tend to provide care to younger recipients, and older caregivers to recipients age 50 and older. Minority caregivers typically fall between the ages of 18 and 34. Most caregivers were married and at some point during their caregiving role have juggled work with caregiving responsibilities. Just under 60% of caregivers were employed, some full- and some part-time. Unemployed caregivers tended to be retired or homemakers. 20% of the caregivers responding to the survey resulting in the study said they cared for two people.1
The Family Caregiver Alliance’s National Center for Caregiving and the National Conference of State Legislatures collaborated on a November 2004 report, The State of the States in Family Caregiving: A 50-State Study, focusing attention on how to support and sustain the families and informal caregivers of the United States. The study was the first to examine the publicly funded caregiver support programs throughout the country, concentrating on that support provided through the National Caregiver Support Program created by the Older Americans Act Amendments of 2000, Aged/Disabled Medicaid waiver programs, and state-funded programs.2
Prior to the advent of the NCSP, state-funded programs in 32 states serving family and informal caregivers were part of state-funded home and community-based services, where one or more components helped family caregivers of older people or adults with physical and/or adult-onset cognitive disabilities such as Alzheimer’s disease. A few states had state-funded programs with a “caregiver-specific” focus. 18 states and the District of Columbia had no state program primarily funded through state general funds that served family or informal caregivers. The 2004 study found that now most caregiver support and home and community-based services, available statewide, are administered at the state level by State Units on Aging.3 See the full report for details on Arizona and other individual state programs
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Links to Arizona Websites
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Links to National Websites
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