Program Overview

The Massachusetts Family Caregiver Support Program provides support to guardians and caregivers of a household. The program connects the caregiver with resources that can help them take care of their relatives and loved ones. The Massachusetts Family Caregiver Support Program supports caregivers by providing counseling services and training workshops. The program is administered by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs which collaborated with the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) and the Aging Service Access Point (ASAP) department to provide the program services.

Objective

There are several families in the state of Connecticut where there is a disabled person who needs special care. The main goal of the Family Caregiver Support Program is to provide sufficient resources to the caregivers. So that they can take care needy properly. The aim is to provide the caretaker with enough resources for them to properly support their loved ones. The program provides detailed information on where to find suitable resources in the state of Massachusetts. This provides relief to the caregivers who otherwise exhaust all their energy in finding suitable resources. 

The caregivers are the backbone of the care system in the United States of America. It belongs to different walks of life. A caregiver could be anyone from parents, spouses, nurses, friends, or relatives. Their job is to look after those kids and adults who are unable to take care of themselves. They provide support to either their relatives or other loved ones. 

The tasks of the caregiver vary from helping with household chores to transportation and moving around of the person being cared for. Furthermore, as well as they monitor the medications of the person. The total number of caregivers is increasing in the country. According to research, there are over 471,000 grandparents who are taking care of their grandchildren. Similarly, 66% of disabled people are being taken care of by someone. There are around 65 million people who are helping a friend, family member, or elderly in their community.

There 61% of caregivers had difficulty juggling their work and caregiving services. Some of them transitioned from full to part-time jobs and some saw a rise in absenteeism from their workplace. It is the responsibility of the workplace to provide flexible working hours to the caregivers. The workplace should create a culture of support where the caregivers should be appreciated for their services. They should be provided support through various stress management and stress-relief programs.

Services

Massachusetts Family Caregiver Support Program provides different services including providing different resources to the caregivers like support groups, providing individual counseling to caretakers to make them understand their roles and responsibilities as a caregiver and help them in decision making. The program also arranges various workshops and training programs for caregivers. The program helps the caregiver by providing respite services to provide temporary relief from their caregiving responsibilities and commitments. It also provides services that supplement the caregiver’s fundamental services.

Caregiving is a very rewarding job and gives you satisfaction, however; it is not an easy one and can give you a significant amount of stress which can have negative health implications. The Family Caregiver Support Program in the state of Massachusetts provides relief to caregivers. They are also provided financial assistance to easily carry about some duties without burdening themselves.

Eligibility Criteria

In Massachusetts, the caregiver should be 55 years of age or older grandparent, relative, friend, or more. A parent cannot be a caregiver. The case should be above their legal age and should be getting paid for his or her services. The caregiver’s responsibilities may include taking care of a child who is 18 years of age or younger or an older citizen who is 60 years of age or older. An individual with a physical or mental illness like dementia or Alzheimer’s can also get a caregiver.

There is a special month dedicated to promoting the caregiver program by the Baker-Polito Administration in the Commonwealth. The purpose of this act is to pay respect and support to the one million caregivers in the state of Massachusetts who provide caregiving services to members of their families. Besides that, the Commonwealth also provides support to caregivers from different backgrounds.

For More Information 

To learn more about the Massachusetts Family Caregiver Support Program kindly visit the Mass.org website. You can also call the program office to apply for the Family Caregiver Support Program at the following number: 1 (800) 243-4636. Visit Benefit by State for more insights and resources.