Baltimore Sun Examines Hardships Faced By Family Caregivers

The Baltimore Sun on Aug. 20 examines the problems faced by the increased number of caregivers who provide care for elderly family members. Government and not-for-profit officials estimate that between 26 million and 54 million Americans provide "some type of care" to a relative, friend or neighbor, and the number of family caregivers who provided care for individuals ages 50 and older increased from seven million to 21 million between 1987 and 1997. Observers predict that the rise in the number of family caregivers will continue as baby boomers and their parents age, the Sun reports. According to the Sun, Congress will likely consider the "Lifespan Respite Care Act," which would provide "fill-in care" to allow family caregivers -- who often report back problems, depression or sleeplessness -- to "take a break." A 1997 MetLife Insurance study estimated that U.S. employers lose between $114 million and $29 billion per year in "workday interruptions," sick days and lost employees who quit to provide care for a relative. Last year, the National Caregivers Support Program began to use federal funds to provide grants to state aging departments, which allocate the funds to county aging offices. Counties often use the funds for caregiver education and training or respite time for caregivers. Barbara Harris, public education manager and caregiver coordinator for the Howard County, Md., Office on Aging, said, "People have no idea that so much (help) is out there." However, the Sun reports that "finding the assistance isn't easy." Many caregivers "don't know it's available," and for others, "the effort to reach it is too great" (Bishop, Baltimore Sun, 8/20).

Federal Employees
In related news, the Washington Post reports that care for elderly parents or relatives has become a "key issue" for many federal employees, as the average age of federal employees has increased from 42 in 1990 to 46 today. An Office of Personnel Management study presented to Congress earlier this year found that 21.7% of the 1,472 federal employees surveyed said they provide care for an elderly relative, and about 43% said that they will have such responsibilities within the next three years. Focus group interviews found that federal employees cited "balancing work and elder care" as their "biggest challenge," according to the report. The report also found that employees with caregiver responsibilities require information on medical, legal and health insurance issues, as well as flexibility from their supervisors and in their work hours (Barr, Washington Post, 8/20). The OPM report is available online.