Paying Family Caregivers

Many of our loved ones need caregiver assistance in order to remain at home in the community. This includes people of all ages with many different types of disabilities and care needs. As many families know, there is a dire shortage of professional caregivers in both home and institutional settings, made worse by the pandemic. This means caregiving needs fall back on family members more and more. Sometimes family members must give up their jobs at great cost to the family. AARP has ranked Tennesse's support for family caregivers at 51 out of 51. We are the worst state in the nation when it comes to supporting family caregivers. One tool that Tennessee can use to improve our ranking is paying family caregivers. In this presentation we will provide updates on the “Paying Family Caregivers” campaign that many of you have joined in partnership with the Tennessee Disability Coalition and supported with funding from the Special Olympics. 

To learn more, please see our blog series: (1) Paying Family Caregivers is a Racial Equity Issue (2) Paying Family Caregivers through Medicaid Structured Family Caregiving.