The Alzheimer Society in Canada recently released Rising Tide: The Impact of Dementia on Canadian Society.  This research, conducted by RiskAnalytica, reveals the health burden of Alzheimer's disease in Canada over the next thirty years, the economic consequences of dementia, and opportunities and recommendations for intervention.  Specifically, the report finds that the number of hours of informal care provided to people with dementia in Canada will triple in the next thirty years, increasing from 231 million hours in 2008 to 756 million hours in 2038.  For more information, visit:

The United Kingdom House of Commons released an analysis of the Personal Care at Home Bill, which would create a new National Care Service for social care.  The first step of setting up this National Care Service would be free personal care for people living in their own homes with the highest care need.  The analysis includes a discussion of the policy context for personal care in England, Wales and Scotland, as well as an anlysis of the bill's provisions.  For more information, visit:

The California Center for Research on Women and Families, in collaboration with the California Legislative Women's Caucus and the California Commission on the Status of Women, is hosting its annual Working Families Policy Summit on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 in Sacramento.  The event will include a special video message from First Lady Michelle Obama.  The Summit will feature sessions on California's budget crisis, as well as focus on proposals and long-term agendas to preserve the safety net, build economic security for families and promote family-friendly workplaces.  To register for the Summit, visit:

The U.S. Administration on Aging (AoA) plans to convene a series of Reauthorization Listening Forums early in 2010 to get input from the aging network, stakeholders, policymakers and the public on issues to be considered for the 2011 reauthorization of the Older Americans Act. The forums will be held in Dallas on February 18, 2010, in the
Washington, DC metro area on February 25, 2010, and in San Francisco on March 3, 2010.  In addition, a separate listening forum will be held at the Aging in America Conference in Chicago on March 16, 2010.  For more information, visit: 

Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) and The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation recently announced the awardees of the second annual Rosalinde Gilbert Innovations in Alzheimer's Disease Caregiving Legacy Awards.  In the Creative Expression category, the winner is the Meet Me at MoMA program at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.  This free program for people with early to mid-stage Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers offers interactive gallery tours, led by trained educators, and art making classes to individuals and to groups from day care centers and assisted living facilities. The winning program in the Diversity/ Multicultural Communities category is the Banner Alzheimer's Institute Native American Outreach Program in Phoenix, Arizona.  This program increases awareness of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias among the 22 Arizona Native American tribal members and health care providers.  The winning program in the Policy and Advocacy category is San Francisco's Strategy for Excellence in Dementia Care and Alzheimer's/Dementia Summit hosted by the San Francisco Department of Aging and Adult Services.  The result of the summit was an innovative 11-year Strategic Plan with recommendations for dementia care excellence to policymakers, caregivers, care receivers, service providers and the public.  The winners will be honored at a breakfast on March 18, 2010 at the Aging in America Conference in Chicago.  For more information, visit:

The Campaign for Better Care, led by the National Partnership for Women & Families and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies, will launch in early 2010 as an unprecedented mobilization to press for improvements in health care delivery that older adults and their families urgently need. In support of the Campaign, the National Partnership is seeking stories that illustrate the ways the current health care system is failing vulnerable older adults with multiple chronic health conditions and their family caregivers. For more information and to submit your own story, visit: