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National Alliance for Caregiving
A National Resource on Caregiving

 

 

International Caregiving Legislation

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United States

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Population:  281 million

Caregiving demographics:

 

  • 22.4 million U.S. households contain at least one caregiver.
  • 64% of caregivers are employed full- or part-time.
  • More than half of working caregivers adjust their work schedules to accommodate caregiving at an estimated cost of $11 billion to U.S. businesses.
  • Services provided by family caregivers in the U.S. are valued at $257 billion, more than double the combined spending on home care and nursing home care.

 

Sources:  AARP and National Alliance for Caregiving (1997), Family Caregiving in the US; National Alliance for Caregiving (1997), “The MetLife Study of Employer Costs for Working Caregivers”; and Peter Arno (February 24, 2002), “Economic Value of Informal Caregiving,” presentation at the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry annual conference in Orlando, FL.

 

US Caregiving Legislation

[To view details of each bill, click the titles below.]

 

·        National Family Caregiver Support Program

·        Long-Term Care and Retirement Security Act

·        Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2003

·        Family Caregiver Relief Act of 2003

·        Living Well with Fatal Chronic Illness Act of 2002

 

Unmet needs/future legislative initiatives:  Though a few states have relatively advanced caregiver support programs, at the federal level only one program is in effect, and it is directed at caregivers of the elderly.  There are some government-funded demonstration projects that impact family caregivers, most prominently the Cash and Counseling Demonstration project (details here).  The primary future initiative is to expand the National Family Caregiver Support Program to include caregivers of younger people and to increase funding for the program. 

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To add to or update information in this section, download the form below and e-mail the completed form to webmaster@caregiving.org.  

International Caregiving Legislation Submission Form(Word file – 22K)

 

Updated:  8/11/03

 

 

 

 

 

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