Support funding for family caregivers through the Lifespan Respite Care Act.
Congress is currently considering two primary options for funding the federal government for the remainder of Fiscal Year (FY) 2011: a single, large appropriations bill based on work already done by the House and Senate (called an omnibus), and a stopgap funding measure, called a continuing resolution (CR), that would fund the government through the rest of FY 2011, mostly at FY 2010 levels.
Maintaining FY 2010 funding levels for Lifespan Respite and the National Family Caregiver Support Program would mean 200,000 fewer family caregivers will receive support services and 3 million hours of respite will be lost.
Please CALL CONGRESS TODAY to ensure that ANY final, FY 2011 funding bill for Health and Human Services include:
- $7 million for Lifespan Respite, the amount included in the Senate FY 2011 Labor, HHS, Education Appropriations bill.
- $202 million for the National Family Caregiver Support Program, the amount the President recommended as part of his Middle Class Task Force Initiative, and included in the Senate bill.
These funding levels proposed by Congress for FY 2011 may be cut if we don't act NOW! Congress is expected to decide by next week how to proceed in regard to FY 2011 funding.
Use these points in your call or e-mail:
- Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Representative’s or Senator’s office. When connected, ask to speak to the person who works on health or disability issues.
- Introduce yourself and your connection to MS.
- Explain the importance of providing these funding levels in the final FY 2011 funding bill. Use the talking points below to make your case.
- Ask the staff member if his/her boss will contact the Appropriations Committee in support of including these funding levels in the final FY 2011 spending bill, no matter what format it takes.
- Please include the additional funding for Lifespan Respite and National Family Caregiver Support that the Administration proposed and Congressional Committees already voted to support.
- The extra funding will allow nearly 200,000 additional caregivers to be served and three million more hours of respite care to be provided
Facts about family caregivers
- Over 65 million family caregivers provide at least 80% of long-term care and support to family members with disabilities or chronic conditions of all ages. According to AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving, 88% of these family caregivers, do not receive any respite services. Even 85% of family caregivers of veterans receive no respite services, even through the Veterans Administration.
- If we continue to deny supports such as respite to these family caregivers, much more costly foster care, nursing home or other institutional placements become the only alternative.
Contact Jenna at the Chapter at 612-335-7981 or jwashnieski@mssociety.org with any questions.