Caregiver Support
Caregivers are adult family members, or other individuals, who are
unpaid providers of in-home and community care to older adults. They
help an older family member or friend with tasks they once handled for
themselves such as meal preparation, bills, personal care,
transportation or medication management. They often don’t see
themselves as caregivers as they are simply doing what a family member
or friend would do. Yet the services they provide are
invaluable to the person they care for and to the community at large.
There are many
community supports to help caregivers provide care. There are also
services focused on the needs of the caregiver. Listed below are a few
of these caregiver-focused services.

Caregiver
Consultation/Coaching Services.
Experts on aging issues can assist caregivers to: build on their
strengths, manage caregiving challenges, access training, work
effectively with family members and guide caregivers to clear solutions.
Caregiver
Education/Training. Group or one-to-one sessions that help people
increase their confidence and comfort in their caregiving
roles. Sessions cover topics such as legal and financial questions,
self-care and community resources. Many home health care agencies and
others provide training to increase caregivers’ skills in physical or
health care related tasks. Visit
Eldercare Partners (Off Site) to view educational
opportunities for caregivers.
Caregiver
Support Groups. These groups
bring caregivers together to discuss concerns, share knowledge, and
provide mutual support. Professionals generally facilitate the groups.
A listing of general support groups in the Metro area can be found at
www.eldercarepartners.org (Off Site). For disease specific groups go to
specific agency websites. For example, stroke information can be found
at
www.strokemn.org (Off Site) and Alzheimer’s Disease information at
www.alzmndak.org (Off Site).
Care Management.
Assessment of an individual's social, psychological and physical health
challenges and strengths resulting in a plan of care for services, if
appropriate.
ECHO Minnesota (Off Site)
ECHO provides health and safety information in Spanish, Hmong,
Vietnamese, Lao, Khmer, Somali and English. Watch the video Helping
Families Care for Older Adults to learn about the importance of family
caregiving and obtain information for people who are caring for an older
family member or friend.

Long-term Care
Consultation. A free in-home assessment that helps identify
needs and assists in developing a plan of care.
Consultation is available through county social service or health and human
service departments.
Respite Care.
Temporary care or supervision of an older person so primary caregivers
can have relief from their caregiving responsibilities. Services
may be provided at home by volunteers or paid staff, or out of the home
in an adult day program, nursing home, adult foster care home or other
residential setting.
Adult Day
Services. These centers provide structured programming that
addresses the health, social and support service needs of older
adults while giving caregivers a break. Learn more from the
Minnesota Adult Day Services Association
(Off Site). The Department of Human Serivces licences Adult Day Centers.
Printed
Materials. There are many books and tip sheets that provide useful information on providing care, the role of a caregiver,
caregiver health, and much more. Visit the
Forms and Publications
page for downloadable information on caregiving and senior services.

Local Resources.
To locate organizations that provide these services call the Senior
LinkAge Line® at 1-800-333-2433 or complete the
Contact form.
Caregiving
Websites. The Internet has an
abundance of websites with useful information for caregivers. To get
started here are just a few. Each site listed, as well as those throughout the caregiver pages, connect to many others.
-
www.caregivermn.org
(Off Site)
– is a comprehensive website for caregivers of seniors featuring Care
Pages on topics critical to caregivers, confidential assistance from
an online advisor, descriptions of publications and other resources, a
bulletin board for caregiver sharing and support, and categorized
links to other valuable web sites. This site is a service of DARTS,
an organization that provides caregiver education and support in the community and
the workplace.
-
www.mnaging.org (Off Site) – the website of the Minnesota Board on Aging
features information about caregiving and links to caregiver support
services throughout the state.
Long Distance Caregiving.
Caring from a distance has its own distinct challenges,
including limited knowledge about available resources and services.
Outside Minnesota try the
Eldercare Locator
(Off Site), a national toll-free directory assistance program provided by the
U.S. Administration on Aging to help elders and their families find
local services. Call 1-800-677-1116.
Aging,
Caregiving, & Developmental Disabilities.
Caregiving for someone
with a developmental disability is lifelong and often performed by older
parents or siblings. As the parent and the care-receiver age, there can
be increased difficulty with the provision of care, prolonged effects of
lifelong caregiving and a change in the types of services needed. Information on services focused on the needs of this group of caregivers
can be found at Arc Greater Twin Cities (Off Site).
Grandparents
Raising Grandchildren & Kinship Care. The vast majority of kinship
caregivers step in to provide a safety-net to keep families together
outside the formal foster care system when birth parents are unable or
unwilling to parent. The Minnesota Kinship Caregivers Association has a
statewide network of agencies that can address the information,
education and referral needs of kinship caregivers. Grandparents and
others raising relatives’ children will find useful information on legal
custody options, financial assistance, health-care and support services
through Minnesota Kinship Caregivers
Association (Off Site).

Caregiving
Related Brochures and Flyers
En Español
Aging,
Caregiving, & Developmental Disabilities
Written in partnership by the Minnesota Board on Aging and Arc
Hennepin-Carver this brochure explains resources for caregivers who
are caring for persons with developmental disabilities.
Care Well - Resources for
Family Caregivers brochure
Developed by the Minnesota Board on Aging, this guide explains the
many roles of caregivers and help available through programs funded by
the National Family Caregiver Support Program. Information on the
various programs can be obtained through the Senior LinkAge Line™.
Caring
with Confidence
This self-help guide was developed by Eldercare Partners, FamilyMeans,
and the Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging for the caregiving journey.
Family Caregivers
as Advocates
Family Caregiving
at Life's End
Written in partnership with, Hospice of the Lakes, this booklet contains information
for caregivers caring for an individual at life’s end.
First Steps
The Minnesota Kinship Caregivers Association developed this how-to
guide to help new (or not new) relatives caring for kin.
Holding a
Family Meeting
This brochure contains information on how to hold a family meeting and
tips for successful meetings.
Legal Steps
This guide was developed by the Minnesota Kinship Caregivers
Association to help grandparents who are raising grandchildren by
answering their legal questions on rights and custody issues.
Parkinson's
Disease and Family Caregiving
Written in partnership with
Methodist Hospital Struthers Parkinson’s Center, this card
contains information for caregivers caring for an individual with
Parkinson’s disease.
Share the Care
Journal
This journal helps caregivers plan, organize, and reflect on the
caregiving process.
Safe Medication
Use for Family Caregivers
This card contains information for caregivers who give medications to
a family member.
Stroke
Written in partnership with
Minnesota Stroke
Association (Off Site), this card contains information for
caregivers caring for a stroke survivor.

Updated
07/13/2007
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