Family Caregivers – a Top Priority

There are more than 50 million family caregivers in the United States who take care of an adult or someone under 18 with disabilities. At AARP, caregiving is a top priority — in our advocacy through our state offices and at the federal level; in providing vital information to caregivers; and in our actions and mindset as an employer.?

Advocacy

We advocate for:

Making providing care — and finding paid care — easier for family caregivers

• Making sure caregivers get the critical information and resources they need to provide care?
• Improving family caregiver training, education, and inclusion in care
• Expanding home and community-based services for people who need care
• Addressing direct care workforce development and retention

Alleviating the economic, financial and other challenges directly associated with caregiving responsibilities

• Initiating or strengthening paid-leave programs that enable employees to provide care without having to worry they will lose their job
• Providing financial relief for family caregivers, such as through?tax credits and reimbursement programs

Preserving and improving the general health and well-being of family caregivers

• Respite services for caregivers so they can take a break and protect their physical and mental health?
• Better and more often assessing the needs of family caregivers to help provide the support that will be most helpful to them?????

Finding Tips and Resources

Another key component of our commitment to caregiving is the information we offer at?www.aarp/caregiving . We provide tips and guidance on home care, including home modifications; care in an institutional setting; medical, legal, and financial issues; and local programs and solutions. Recognizing that while caregiving is an expression of love, it can be isolating and enervating, we help to connect caregivers to each other and to the resources they need.

Caregiving at AARP

We also realize how important it is to practice what we promote.?

Leadership in caregiving is measured not only in policies espoused and portals provided but also in how employers enable their employees to provide care for their loved ones.?

AARP is committed to being an employer of choice, and that means offering benefits that equip employees to live the life they want. Our employees, like anyone else, want to care for their families and be there when it matters. That is why, among many other benefits, we offer two weeks of caregiving leave.

We offer caregiving leave because it’s the right thing to do.?

Our employees tell us they want caregiving leave. We’re not alone in hearing this. According to the Society for Human Resources Management, outside of paid leave (vacation and sick days), the benefits used most and found the most helpful by employees were:

• caregiving leave
• back-up care
• flexible scheduling
• remote work
• reduction to part time
• onsite or near-site childcare and elder care
• subsidy for childcare/elder care services
• support groups
• job sharing, and?
• specialized caregiver service (inclusive of Employee Assistance Programs): counseling resources, referral services, expert consultations, and seminars or classes on caregiving topics

Here are two comments from the employee feedback survey we conducted last year:?

• “Our Caregiving Leave has been an invaluable resource and without it I would not have been able to provide my family members with needed assistance and support.”
• “I like the caregiving benefits which allows for flexibility to take care of a loved one without fear of losing [my] job.”

While we believe our caregiving leave policy has been effective, we look for other ways as well to help our employees who are family caregivers.

Last April, we started an Employee Resource Group for caregivers and anyone interested in caregiving. The group, which has ranged from 25-40 participants, is designed to give employees the opportunity to connect, share, and gain knowledge around caregiving.?

?As AARP’s chief operating officer, I am proud of the steps we have taken on caregiving, whether it is advocacy in the legislative arena or the support we have given to our employees. We have created an atmosphere where employees are not afraid to ask for caregiving leave so they can take care of their loved ones.

John Gardner, a leader in government, education, and philanthropy in the last half of the 20th century, once said this, “Our problem is not to find better values but to be faithful to those we profess.”

The caregiver — and those who support the caregiver — are meeting that test.