State-Level Policy Actions to Support Family Caregivers

Abstract The stresses created by the growing need for family caregivers have failed to prompt federal policy action; in its absence, states are stepping up. This review of state policies that support employment among family caregivers found six main categories of legislative action: paid leave; expanding federally mandated unpaid leave; paid sick time; unemployment insurance for job loss attributable to caregiving duties; establishing family caregivers as a protected classification in employment discrimination; and flexible or alternative work schedules. Despite the demand for policies that support and empower working caregivers, a minority of states have passed such legislation; to date, 9 states have implemented paid family leave; 14 have implemented mandatory sick leave legislation; and 14 have expanded FMLA. This study discusses state-level policy actions, reviews the status and importance of these policies, and finds that despite gaps in caregiver support legislation at the state level, there is significant and promising momentum.

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Family Caregiving Policies: Where We Are Now

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.242 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 63-64

Author(s):

Pamela Nadash ◽

Rani Snyder ◽

Eileen Tell

Keyword(s):

Family Caregivers ◽

Family Caregiving ◽

State Level ◽

Advisory Council ◽

Primary Data ◽

Stakeholder Groups ◽

Current State ◽

The Status ◽

Building Activities ◽

Support Family

Abstract This session reviews prospects for advancing family caregiving policy under the Biden Administration, by reporting on the RAISE (Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage) Family Caregivers Act, enacted in January 2018. The Act directs the Secretary of HHS to develop a national family caregiving strategy, and supports research and consensus-building activities, in collaboration with The John A. Hartford Foundation. It aims to identify actions that communities, providers, government, and others may take to recognize and support family caregivers. To this end, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) has convened an Advisory Council, comprising 15 voting members from various stakeholder groups, to guide the effort; the project also commissioned primary data collection on caregiver priorities and recommendations, using a Request for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register garnering roughly 1600 responses, 12 focus groups with diverse family caregivers, and listening sessions with stakeholder groups. Wendy Fox-Grage, of the National Academy on State Health Policy, which supports RAISE Act activities, will describe the project’s scope of work and activities to date. Pamela Nadash from the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston, who leads the data analysis component, will present findings from the commissioned research, while Molly Evans, (MA Executive Office of Elder Affairs) will review the current state of state-level policies aimed at supporting family caregivers. The symposium will conclude with Grace Whiting, CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving, who will present an advocate’s perspective on the status of family caregiving policy. Eileen Tell, of ET Consultants, will act as discussant.

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Family Physician’s and Primary Care Team’s Perspectives on Supporting Family Caregivers in Primary Care Networks

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18063293 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (6) ◽

pp. 3293

Author(s):

Jasneet Parmar ◽

Sharon Anderson ◽

Marjan Abbasi ◽

Saeed Ahmadinejad ◽

Karenn Chan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Family Caregivers ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

Family Physicians ◽

Care Team ◽

Primary Care Team ◽

Caregiver Support ◽

Team Members ◽

Primary Care Teams ◽

Support Family

Background. Research, practice, and policy have focused on educating family caregivers to sustain care but failed to equip healthcare providers to effectively support family caregivers. Family physicians are well-positioned to care for family caregivers. Methods. We adopted an interpretive description design to explore family physicians and primary care team members’ perceptions of their current and recommended practices for supporting family caregivers. We conducted focus groups with family physicians and their primary care team members. Results. Ten physicians and 42 team members participated. We identified three major themes. “Family physicians and primary care teams can be a valuable source of support for family caregivers” highlighted these primary care team members’ broad recognition of the need to support family caregiver’s health. “What stands in the way” spoke to the barriers in current practices that precluded supporting family caregivers. Primary care teams recommended, “A structured approach may be a way forward.” Conclusion. A plethora of research and policy documents recommend proactive, consistent support for family caregivers, yet comprehensive caregiver support policy remains elusive. The continuity of care makes primary care an ideal setting to support family caregivers. Now policy-makers must develop consistent protocols to assess, and care for family caregivers in primary care.

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The Politics of Caregiving: Taking Stock of State-Level Policies to Support Family Caregivers

Public Policy & Aging Report ◽

10.1093/ppar/praa005 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 62-66 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Walter D Dawson ◽

Lauren R Bangerter ◽

Michael Splaine

Keyword(s):

Family Caregivers ◽

State Level ◽

Support Family

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FEDERAL POLICY EFFORTS TO SUPPORT FAMILY CAREGIVERS: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.493 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S135-S136

Author(s):

Lauren R Bangerter ◽

Nicole Ruggiano ◽

Joan M Griffin ◽

Kelly A O Malley

Keyword(s):

Family Caregivers ◽

Family Caregiver ◽

Federal Policy ◽

Financial Burden ◽

Term Care ◽

Older Americans ◽

Caregiver Support ◽

Age Related ◽

Care And Support ◽

Support Family

Abstract Family caregivers are major providers of long-term care and support for family members with age-related decline and disability. Caregiving is a demanding and complex undertaking that has demonstrated extensive physical, emotional, relational, and financial burden on families. These factors underscore the urgency of addressing the needs of family caregivers at the policy level. This presentation focuses on the origins, goals, and mandates of federal policy efforts that support family caregivers. This includes an analysis on how federal support for caregivers has evolved over time, most notably through the National Family Caregiver Support Program, part of the Older Americans Act. It will also discuss the passage of more recent legislation (e.g., RAISE Family caregiver Act and the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act) that will contribute to a national strategy to support family caregivers. Moreover, through the discussion of these policies, we will articulate specific areas where gerontology research and public policy can and should intersect in order to optimize the effectiveness of policy efforts to support family caregivers.

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United States: leave policy, failure and potential

Parental Leave and Beyond ◽

10.1332/policypress/9781447338772.003.0009 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 147-164

Author(s):

Gayle Kaufman

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

New York ◽

Rhode Island ◽

Parental Leave ◽

State Level ◽

Welfare Programs ◽

Paid Leave ◽

Unpaid Leave ◽

Leave Policy ◽

Paid Parental Leave

The United States is far behind other countries when it comes to paid leave for parents. While there have been efforts since the 1980s to introduce legislation, the current federal policy (Family and Medical Leave Act or FMLA) only offers 12 weeks of unpaid leave and only 59% of American workers are eligible for this leave; even among working adults who are eligible for FMLA, less than two-fifths can afford to take this unpaid leave. At the state level, California was a trailblazer in passing paid Family Leave in 2002, and New Jersey, Rhode Island and New York have followed suit. Recently, several companies have made news with their announcements about introducing and expanding paid Parental Leave. While a majority of Americans supports some kind of paid leave policy, the most recent legislation introduced at the federal level has nevertheless failed to pass. Some reasons include low relative importance, disagreement in policy implementation, concern over the impact on businesses, and an American value system that emphasizes individualism over welfare programs.

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The Experience of Working Family Caregivers: Implications for a National Paid Leave Policy

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.2550 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 721-721

Author(s):

Tiffany Washington ◽

Lynn Friss Feinberg

Keyword(s):

Family Caregivers ◽

State Level ◽

The United States ◽

Advisory Council ◽

Family Leave ◽

Full Time ◽

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren ◽

Paid Leave ◽

Paid Family Leave ◽

Leave Policy

Abstract Family caregivers provide the bulk of unpaid care to older adults. The typical family caregiver is a 49-year-old woman who works full time and simultaneously provides an average of 24 hours of care per week for an older relative. Unfortunately, their caregiving duties places them at risk for lost wages and termination due to frequent interruptions at work, especially in the absence of a national paid family leave policy. It is possible that such a policy could mitigate these risks; however, the United States is the only developed nation that lacks a national paid family leave policy for all workers. This symposium will highlight the psychosocial, economic, and health issues experienced by working caregivers, and conclude by linking presenters’ findings to implications for a national paid leave policy. To start, presenter one will describe findings from a scoping review on workplace experiences of female family caregivers. Next, presenter two will describe findings from a systematic review to explore predictors of the adoption and implementation of state-level paid family leave policies. Presenter three’s study examines interest in supportive services among working and non-working Black caregivers in the Deep South. Presenter four will describe factors associated with healthcare utilization of working caregivers using data from the Regional Healthcare Partnership – Region 17 Health Assessment Survey. The final presenter, HHS Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren co-chair, will describe development of policy initiatives to identify, coordinate, and promote information, resources, and best practices for working grandparents raising grandchildren.

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Family Caregivers as Advocates

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igab046.246 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 64-64

Author(s):

C Grace Whiting

Keyword(s):

Family Caregivers ◽

Multiple Roles ◽

Care Recipient ◽

Policy Action ◽

Caregiver Support ◽

The Public ◽

Recent Developments ◽

Life Circumstances ◽

Caregiver Role ◽

National Alliance

Abstract This presentation discusses the growing influence of family caregiver advocacy and its prospects for impacting policy under the Biden administration, at both the federal and states levels. In particular, it will describe the National Alliance for Caregiving’s 50-state unified strategy for establishing the caregiver support infrastructure that is needed to coordinate efforts and to support caregivers across the nation and the lifespan. Historically, family caregivers have had difficulty acting as effective advocates, given the multiple roles they often play and their widely divergent interests, based on the varying needs of their care recipient and their divergent life circumstances. However, the Biden administration has indicated receptivity to caregiver issues, and the public has become increasingly aware of the caregiver role (in part, due to the pandemic), resulting in improved prospects for policy action at both the state and federal levels. This presentation reviews recent developments and discusses strategies for moving forward.

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