R.A.I.S.E

January 21, 2020 Announcements, Blog, Caregiving, Events

The Recognize, Assist, Include, Support and Engage (R.A.I.S.E.) Family Caregivers Act was signed into law on January 8, 2018. It directed the establishment of the Family Caregiving Advisory Council (FCAC) to identify best practices and provide recommendations on supporting family caregivers. The FCAC includes 15 members of the public from across the country who reflect the diversity of family caregivers and the people they support, as well as representatives of federal departments and agencies that play a role in these issues. The FCAC held its first meeting in August 2019 in Washington, D.C.

In this inaugural meeting, the FCAC was charged with providing recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on effective models of both family caregiving and support to family caregivers, as well as improving coordination across federal government programs. Read more about the council HERE.
Administration for Community Living, “Raise Family Caregiving Advisory Council”, https://acl.gov/programs/support-caregivers/raise-family-caregiving-advisory-council

The law is a strategy that will help identify the things that providers, local governments, communities, and others can do to help support family caregivers.

These things include:

respite options
financial security and workplace issues
assessment and service planning,
the establishment of a representative in healthcare and longterm care support settings to advocate for the family caregivers.
Education, training, and support
Promoting greater adoption and person and family-centered care.

There is also a council to support grandparents raising Grandchildren as this topic is also covered the RAISE bill.

To achieve this strategy, an advisory council has been created. The advisory council has been made to reflect with at least one from each of the following areas: caregivers, veterans, state & local officials, accreditation body, employers, providers of long term care and support, individuals with disabilities, health care & social service providers, and paraprofessionals. Also, the council includes non-voting representatives from federal departments and agencies.

I had the opportunity to view the inaugural FCAC session, and I was impressed that they made a serious effort to cover all these walks of life, which helped my confidence in this council. Many of them had close, personal ties to the realities of caregiving; some even have someone in their family that they had to take care of. To me, that was very encouraging to hear.

Caregiver’s Respite started having the listening sessions and Concern for Caregiver meetings because we realized all the gaps and unheard stories and needs that were never being met for caregivers all over the Mid-South. So knowing that this law is in place to help is a big deal.

This year, the council is asking for feedback . Hopefully, this will lead to the council holding formal listening sessions across the US to start collecting input and data on what family caregivers, and care recipients, really need.

So Caregiver’s Respite is asking for YOU to join a brainstorming and input session so we can submit a formal request to the FCAC that covers the topics and issues relevant to family caregivers here in the Mid-South. Your voices, stories, and thoughts on each aspect of family caregiving are invaluable to us and the FCAC.