|
FCA Wins International Award for Best Practice
in Caregiver Support Programs
SAN FRANCISCO—November 20, 2002—Family Caregiver Alliance has won an international "Best Practice" award in a competition to recognize innovative family caregiver programs among states, communities and agencies. The award was presented at the Third International Conference on Family Care held in Arlington, VA, and included a cash prize of $7500.
Participants from around the globe attended the conference, which explored the changing needs of caregiving and highlighted effective programs. FCA's Caregiver Resource Center (CRC), based in San Francisco and replicated throughout California, was recognized for its outstanding programs. The CRC serves families in the six-county Bay Area. The program is one of several under FCA's oversight.
Family Caregiver Alliance, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, was the first voluntary, community-based organization in the United States to respond to the challenges of caring for loved ones affected by Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, stroke, ALS, traumatic brain injury and other disabling conditions. Neither Medicare nor private health insurance covers the long-term custodial care that these conditions require, and families are subject to financial, emotional and physical stress as they try to meet the challenges of caring for their loved ones at home, out of institutions.
Recognizing that the caregiver—as well as the individual who was ill—needed assistance and support, FCA developed a comprehensive range of practical, cost-effective caregiver support services. The replication of FCA's model program throughout California was established through legislation in 1984. FCA provides programs at the national, state and local levels to support and sustain the important work of family caregivers. FCA's Bay Area Caregiver Resource Center is funded by the California Department of Mental Health and the federal Administration on Aging through the National Family Caregiver Support Program.
This award is one of a number of honors the agency has won for its pioneering programs and innovation in service development. A separate program, FCA's National Center on Caregiving, established at FCA in 2000 and funded by the Archstone Foundation, works to advance the development of caregiver programs in every state in the country.
More than a dozen countries were represented at the conference. Other award winners were the CLSC Rene-Cassin/Institute of Social Gerontology of Quebec and Carers NSW in Australia.
For more information on Family Caregiver Alliance, visit the website at http://www.caregiver.org.
##
E-mail to a Friend
Printable Version
|
