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Information for Caregivers

What’s caregiving?
You may be a caregiver for an older adult, without thinking of yourself as one.

Do you provide unpaid care to a family member, friend, or neighbor who has an illness, disability, memory loss, injury, or special need? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are a caregiver! Are you feeling overwhelmed, constantly worried, tired, sad, easily irritated, and/or extremely stressed? You are not alone and there is support available. If you would like to learn more about resources, tools, and supports available for caregivers, please answer the following questions to get connected to the right starting place.

Are you over the age of 18 and caring for an older adult (age 60+)?

Are you over the age of 18 caring for an individual (any age) with Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder (e.g., dementia, traumatic brain injury, mild cognitive impairment, chronic traumatic encephalopathy)?

Are you over the age of 55 and living with and caring for a child (not biological) under the age of 18?

Are you over the age of 55 and living with and caring for an adult (can be a biological child) aged 18-59 with a disability?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you are eligible for the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP). If you would like to learn more about how this program can assist you, please take this short screener for an initial assessment of your wellbeing, and a Program Specialist will reach out to discuss the results. The evidence-based screener asks you to reflect on your experiences and respond to a series of statements based on identified rating scales in each section. This screener is used to help you and the Program Specialist better understand your situation and define an individualized plan to meet your unique caregiving needs.

If you answered no to all the questions above, or you are not interested in taking the evidence-based screen, there is still help available to you through the Any Care Counts - New York (ACC-NY) Campaign which recognizes and supports the millions of unpaid caregivers across the state! Through ACC-NY you can discover your caregiver intensity score by taking the ARCHANGELS Caregiver Intensity Index (CII). It takes just 2 minutes to complete. You will find out whether you are “in the red," "yellow" or "green," and be connected to trusted resources.  

• Trualta
The Dutchess County Office for the Aging, with support from the New York State Office for the Aging and the Association on Aging in New York (AgingNY), have partnered with Trualta to offer Trualta’s web-based caregiver education and support platform at no cost to any unpaid caregiver in New York State. Click here to start.

 

Printable OFA Caregiver Services Brochure (.pdf)

 

The Dutchess County Office For The Aging/NY Connects Family Caregivers Support Program offers and funds a variety of services designed to assist caregivers of aging relatives.   These services are described below along with the agency and phone number to call for more information.

Other Resources for Caregivers