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National Caregiving Policy Initiatives

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The Sociology of Caregiving

Part of the book series: Clinical Sociology: Research and Practice ((CSRP))

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Abstract

Long-term care has become an increasingly urgent policy issue. The objective is not to minimize the importance of the home and family members in care but rather to support them as partners in a coordinated system of care involving professional caregivers and community-based resources. As the demand for caregivers increases there will be a need for employers and policy makers to accommodate the needs of working caregivers. Family caregiving continues to be an essential part of the care of the aging and disabled persons in our society. There, nevertheless, is a need for a national healthcare policy that addresses the needs of an aging society with a shortage of caregivers. As of 2011 and every day for the next 19 years, 10,000 baby boomers will reach 65 according to the Pew Foundation. There are resources and initiatives currently available from national and state levels but most are inadequately funded, lack an evaluation of their effectiveness, and are not well publicized. The recently passed Affordable Care Act is an attempt to provide greater access to primary care services, reduce barriers, and facilitate coordination across the continuum of care.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See the interesting article on how society shapes aging by Berkman and Glymour (2006). Also see Mechanic (2006, pp. 51–66).

  2. 2.

    The group was comprised of Lynn Friss Feinberg of the National Center on Caregiving/Family Caregiving Alliance; Jane Horvath, a health policy analyst; Gail Hunt and Les Plooster of the National Alliance for Caregiving; Jill Kagan of the National Respite Coalition; Carol Levine of the Families and Healthcare Project, United Fund; Joanne Lynn MD of Americans for Better Care of the Dying; Suzanne Mintz of the National Family Caregivers Association; and Ann Wilkinson of the Rand Corporation.

  3. 3.

    See A Guide to the National Family Support Program and its Inclusion of Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children. 2nd edition, September, 2003. Generations United, Washington, DC. guogu.org.

  4. 4.

    The Affordable Care Act also provides the opportunity to redesign the nation’s mental health system. It promotes new programs such as health homes, interdisciplinary care teams, the co-location of physical health and behavioral services, collaborative care, and the broadening of the Medicaid Home and Community-based Services option. The Act offers the opportunity to insure more people, reimburse previously unreimbursed services, integrate care, confront complex chronic comorbidities, and adopt underused evidence-based interventions (See Mechanic 2012).

  5. 5.

    See the Annual Report of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class, November, 2010, Office of the Vice President, Chaired by Vice President Joe Biden. http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/100226-annual-report-middle-class.pdf.

  6. 6.

    See the Family Caregiver Alliance website for federal and state legislation and policy reports and initiatives that directly impact caregivers of older adults and adults with disabilities. http://caregiver.org/caregiver/jsp/content_node.jsp?nodeid=2324&chcategory=30.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

    John G. Bruhn

  2. Department of Sociology, University of Maryland, Princess Anne, Maryland, USA

    Howard M. Rebach

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  1. John G. Bruhn
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Correspondence to John G. Bruhn .

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Bruhn, J., Rebach, H. (2014). National Caregiving Policy Initiatives. In: The Sociology of Caregiving. Clinical Sociology: Research and Practice. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8857-1_13

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