March 5, 2002
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Urgent Action Needed! -- Call Your Legislator Now!!
THE PROGRAM The Statewide Respite Program... provides relief to families from the constant physical and emotional stress of caring for a person with Alzheimer's disease or related disorder. Through the program, families can receive various kinds of assistance, including assessment of the needs of their loved one, development of a short-term care plan, and/or purchase of respite services from an approved community services provider. These services can include daytime or overnight respite care services including adult day care, home health aide support, homemaking, companion services, skilled nursing and/or short-term stays in a nursing home or an assisted living facility. This assistance allows exhausted caregivers to regroup, both physically and emotionally, and to find the strength to carry on.* THE PROBLEM Governor Rowland's proposed state budget will cut $250,000 from a relatively new program that is growing in usage as more people become aware of its availability. What is really needed is for our legislators to support SB442, An Act Concerning Expansion of the Alzheimer's Respite Care Program. The need for this program is well-substantiated, and the program itself has proved cost-effective. This program is providing middle-income families with assistance that will allow them to continue providing care at home, ultimately reducing or removing entirely the need for state expenditure on nursing facility care for these patients. Call your legislators NOW, before the budget is passed, and tell them you want them to protect Respite Care and approve its expansion. Senate Democrats: 1-800-842-1420 For more information, please contact United Seniors in Action at 297-5154.
*From CT Association of Area Agencies on Aging |