advocacy « blog.caregiver.org

LGBT Caregivers: What Does the Future Hold?

By Sean Coffey, Policy Specialist, on May 11th, 2012

By Family Caregiver Alliance

Earlier this week, President Obama became the first president of the United States to endorse gay marriage. While the immediate effects of his endorsement aren’t clear, there is a possibility that this endorsement may carry over to changing policies that affect LGBT caregivers in long-term care programs like Medicaid. This post highlights unique [...]

Advocacy, Media, and Policy for Caregivers at the 2012 Aging in America Conference

By Kathleen Kelly - FCA Executive Director, on April 20th, 2012

Last month, staff from Family Caregiver Alliance traveled to Washington, DC for the 2012 Aging in America Conference. In addition to our Gilbert awards ceremony (read more about the award reception here), FCA staff also attended the Capitol Hill Advocacy Day, and presented a session entitled “Family Caregivers: Policy Perspectives, Media Musings. The Aging in [...]

2011 Best Of Awards in Family Caregiving

By Kathleen Kelly - FCA Executive Director, on April 6th, 2012

For the second year in a row, Family Caregiver Alliance announces our “Best of” awards focused on research, personal accounts, and media coverage of family caregivers during the past year. The “Best of” awards are drawn from our “Family Caregiving 2011: Year in Review” report that is a compilation of the key developments during the [...]

Ghost of VP’s “Caregiver Initiative” Forces President Obama into Action

By Kathleen Kelly - FCA Executive Director, on April 2nd, 2012

Dear Readers: It’s April Fool’s Day- but wouldn’t it be wonderful if some of these were true?

US Supreme Court Justice Finds Hidden Section of the Affordable Care Act Creating ‘Caregiver Czar’
John Smith, a spokesperson for the United States Supreme Court, confirmed rumors today that Supreme Court Justice Kennedy found a previously unknown section of the [...]

45 Facts on Family Caregivers from Research in 2011

By Kathleen Kelly - FCA Executive Director, on March 30th, 2012

As part of Family Caregiver Alliance’s report, “Family Caregiving 2011: Year in Review- A compilation of Research, Programs, Legislation, & Media Coverage” this brief highlights 45 data points based on research released in 2011 focused on family caregivers in the United States and Internationally. The citations for all 45 facts are listed at the bottom [...]

Don’t Balance the California Budget on the Backs of Family Caregivers

By Kathleen Kelly - FCA Executive Director, on February 9th, 2012

In Governor Brown’s proposed FY 2012-13 budget, funding for the 11 state-wide California Caregiver Resource Centers would be completely eliminated.

The Caregiver Resource Centers offer much-needed support in a variety of ways to informal caregivers who are oftentimes overwhelmed, physically, emotionally, and financially, with their caregiver responsibilities.

The California Caregiver Resource Centers are asking family caregivers throughout [...]

Social Media and Nonprofits: Extra Work or A New Way to Do Work?

By Sean Coffey, Policy Specialist, on January 28th, 2012

By Sean Coffey, Policy Specialist at Family Caregiver Alliance

Social media is quite the buzz in 2012, and many nonprofits may be wondering:

Is it worth the effort? Is it free? What are the benefits of creating a Facebook page?

As the administrator of Family Caregiver Alliance’s Facebook page, I’m going to share some of what we’ve learned [...]

A Rough Ride for California’s Caregivers

By Kathleen Kelly - FCA Executive Director, on January 6th, 2012

Editor’s note: There is a petition against the proposed cuts to the California Caregiver Resource Centers. You can view and sign the petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/dont-balance-californias-budget-on-the-backs-of-family-caregivers

Governor Jerry Brown released his proposed FY 2012-13 budget this week, which calls for eliminating funding for the California Caregiver Resource Centers (CRC). The language used in the budget document [...]

A Caregiver Policy Wonk's Christmas List

By Sean Coffey, Policy Specialist, on December 20th, 2011

At the recent AARP forum on caregiving, Jonathan Rauch suggested that we need a groundswell of support around caregiving in order to affect changes, not a “laundry list” of policy proposals to better support caregivers. While Rauch has a point, there’s also the old expression of “no askie, no gettie.” FCA will release its official [...]

Day 28: Asking for Help

By Kathleen Kelly - FCA Executive Director, on November 28th, 2011

November 28, 2011

By Sarah Wells, Executive Director, National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care

It can be hard to ask for help. I know this first-hand. I’m one of those people who tend to always say “yes”, never “no,” and really want to do things myself. I find it incredibly hard to imagine that someday I [...]