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Welcome to the National Dialogue on Family Support. We look forward to your ideas, comments, and hearing what topics are most important to you!

The level of long-term chronic stress may be causing auto-immune conditions, particularly in older mothers. As far as I know, this has not been studied, but anecdotally, practically every older mother I know who is an active advocate, also has an auto-immune disorder. Until it is identified as a problem, no one will address it with any ideas for remedies.

The National Council on Disability 2012 report, "Rocking the Cradle: Ensuring the Rights of Parents with Disabilities," identified numerous knowledge gaps. How many people with different types of disabilities are attempting to raise children? How many of them are involved with child welfare systems? What kinds of supports are available to them ( and where)? What are their outcomes? This field is wide open, and the... more »

More research is needed to demonstrate the cost benefits of family caregiver support programs. Supporting family caregivers can reduce undesirable placements in institutional settings, prevent avoidable hospitalizations, improve care coordination, and enhance the overall health and wellbeing of individuals with disabilities. However, the research on cost benefits is very limited. Particularly as more states move to managed... more »

We all know caregiving is difficult and requires a team. There are many resources available to caregivers but caregivers have challenges reaching out and asking for help.

Building a care team and developing a care plan can avoid some caregiver heath challenges, how do we make it okay to ask for help?

I have had over 13 calls from Seniors taking care of their parents. Trying to leave them in their home and still live close by. Some have hired caretakers to come during the day and night. But they always have a time, when the Hired person can't come in a take care of Mom or Dad. Then they call me and ask if I know of someone who could come in at last min. and sit with their parent. I propose to set up a Temporary... more »

The most important thing for caregivers, and the family members we/they care for, is an occasional break so we can have social interaction outside the home. To take a break we need backup assistance from time-to-time that we can count on. Independent Living Centers (CILs?) have provided no assistance in this regard. Shouldn't that be one of their core functions? What do CILs do--just advocacy?

At any rate, we need... more »

Research is needed to demonstrate how respite for family caregivers may be cost-effective in terms of preventing institutionalization of the care recipient, enabling caregivers to maintain their own good health as well as that of the care recipient, etc.

Respite is often the most frequently requested family support service. However, according to the ARCH/ACL Expert Panel on Respite Research, which will be issuing respite research recommendations this summer, high quality research on respite outcomes for the family caregiver, the care recipient and the family as a whole, including cost benefits, is limited and often fraught with methodological problems. More and better... more »

Is there any research available on the creation and maintenance of neighborhood co-operatives for caregiving for vulnerable adults?

Many adult day programs are reasonably priced but struggle will minimal attendance. The good programs provide a wide of activities to meet the needs of participants. How do they attract more participants? If it's fear on the part of potential participants and their families, how to the programs overcome it?

Caregiving results in an overall cost to business of $33.6 billion per year due to absenteeism, supervisory time, unpaid leave, and reduced hours. Family caregiving is also estimated to add another $13.4 billion or an 8% differential to healthcare business costs. How do we convince companies to provide resources to help their employees manage their jobs and their caregiving responsibilities?

As a caregiver and DHCPOA I would like to start a conversation and bring about policy changes to have advanced directives give greater instructions to the people who are to carry out the individuals wishes as to what to do if XYZ happens, not just, withhold nutrition and hydration if I'm terminally ill. Give deeper instructions, who do you want to provide caregiving for you if you should need it? Do you expect your family... more »

If a caregiver is providing care, allow them to have a tax credit, for the sheer savings to the tax paying public of not having medicaid bear the costs of giving care. In the past 5 years, as a caregiver, I have saved taxpayers thousands and thousands of dollars by providing care to an elderly family member, versus relying on the government to care for the individual. Give credit where credit is due.