National Family Caregiver Support Program

For older adults wanting to remain independent in the community, informal caregivers are one of their biggest resources.

Spouses and adult children are the most common supports for older adults. They provide transportation, shopping and errands, home chores, personal care, and emotional support—all on their own time. If these informal caregivers were reimbursed for their efforts, costs would be in the billions of dollars in the USA alone. The National Family Caregiver Support Program (FCSP) was created in 2000 under the Older Americans Act to address the toll caregiving can take on mental and physical health. The program distributes grants to local agencies to pay for services and supports for informal caregivers. Aging Ahead provides FCSP services in St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson, and Franklin counties as funding allows.

Aging Ahead’s FCSP services include:

• In-Home Respite Care (6 hours per week)
• Adult Day Care (Two, 6-hour days per week)
• Minor Home Modification (up to $500 per lifetime)
• Durable Medical Equipment (up to $500 per lifetime)
• Nutritional Supplements and Incontinence Products (up to $110 per year)

To qualify for FCSP services, a client must be an informal, unpaid caregiver to someone age 60 or older. The caregiver and care receiver must live in the same home. The requested services can’t be covered by other forms of insurance. For example, Medicaid typically pays for incontinence products. If someone is a Veteran, they may be able to get help with home modification through the VA. As part of the intake process, an Options Counselor will explore these other resources. The in-home respite care and adult day care also require that the caregiver provides 24/7 care; i.e., that the caregiver does not work outside the home. This is because each of these services are meant to give the caregiver respite, or a break, from their caregiving.

Aging Ahead has helped thousands of caregivers over the years. At any given time, we have several hundred active clients receiving one or more FCSP services. Cindy Carlson, a Community Options Specialist, received a special note from a caregiver who uses the adult day care service:

I have so appreciated the opportunity you’ve given me to have a day off while my husband has a safe and stimulating day at the J. He seems to enjoy going and I feel like a kid on vacation when I head out the door after taking him there!!

Even though I love my husband, 24/7 caregiving can be so stressful and never being really “off duty” is tough sometimes.

Thank you sooo much for the chance to have some real time off. I’ve enjoyed running errands by myself, spending time alone at home, lunch with family or friends, walking in the park, and many other activities. Thank you thank you.

-Caregiver Client

As with all Aging Ahead programs, clients are not charged for any of our services. Donations are, of course, deeply appreciated. If you are a caregiver interested in FCSP, you can speak with a Community Options Specialist in your area to get started:

St. Louis County: 636-207-0847

St. Charles County: 636-579-0555

Franklin County: 636-629-3143

Jefferson County: 636-253-0558