| Project C.A.R.E: "Caregiver Alternatives to Running on Empty" uses a family consultant model to provide consumer-directed respite care and comprehensive support to caregivers. The goal of the program is to increase quality, access, choice, and use of respite and support services to low-income rural and minority families caring for a person with dementia at home. Through the integration of dementia-capable services and the development of family-centered and caregiver-focused community care networks, Project C.A.R.E. helps create a seamless, coordinated delivery system that is responsive to the needs, values and preferences of Alzheimer's families.
Project C.A.R.E. is administered through the Division of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS) with expert consultation and technical assistance provided by the Duke Aging Center Family Support Program. Project C.A.R.E. is implemented at the local level through Family Consultants. The program is currently based within the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services, two local Area Agencies on Aging (Regions Q and N), and Park Ridge Hospital (Henderson County). The Project C.A.R.E. staff at Park Ridge (based in Fletcher, NC) serves as the program's statewide training and technical assistance resource.
Project C.A.R.E. employs Family Consultants with expertise in Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia. The Consultants visit the homes of referred dementia caregivers in crises and offer timely, individualized assessment, guidance, counseling, support, advocacy, coaching and education. Their aim is to match families with the most appropriate and preferred local respite and community services tailored to their unique situation and needs. Through Project C.A.R.E., caregivers may spend up to $1,000 per year toward respite services. Families are able to choose among a full continuum of consumer-directed care options, including adult day services, group respite, private or agency in-home care, and overnight residential respite.
There are currently five program sites set up to serve the following 40 counties: 1) Charlotte (Mecklenburg County); 2)Winston-Salem (Forsyth, Stokes, Surry and Yadkin); 3) Hendersonville (Avery, Buncombe, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania and Yancey); 4) Pembroke (Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, Hoke, Robeson, and Scotland); 5) Washington (Beaufort, Bertie, Gates, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Martin, Northampton, Pitt and Washington).
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