November 25, 2015
NASW continues its support for National Family Caregivers Month this November. This year’s theme, Respite: Care for Caregivers, emphasizes that respite is essential to family caregiver well-being.
Social workers play an integral role in helping family caregivers to access respite services. Use the materials listed below to enhance your outreach efforts and to highlight the social work role in supporting family caregivers during National Family Caregivers Month. Leave a comment describing how you’ve commemorated National Family Caregivers Month.
NASW resources:
- NASW Standards for Social Work Practice with Family Caregivers of Older Adults
- Caregiving and Care Sharing: A Life Course Perspective—NASW Press
- Practice tools, resources, and announcements—aging, health, and hospice & palliative care
- Older Americans Act policy issue brief
- NASW media toolkit on aging
- Specialty Practice Sections—includes free webinars
- Continuing education—2016 national conference, chapter programs, Professional Education Training Center, and Lunchtime Series
- NASW Advanced Practice Specialty Credentials—gerontological social work, health, and other specialties
- Consumer-friendly information about family caregiving
Resources developed in collaboration with NASW:
- Eldercare Workforce Alliance—issue briefs, resources, and advocacy to strengthen the health care workforce serving older adults and family caregivers
- Joint Commission consumer brochures addressing palliative care and memory problems and dementia
- Leadership Council of Aging Organizations—issue briefs and advocacy to advance older adult health, income security, and community services
- NASW-supported sign-on letters advocating for family caregiver support services
Other related resources:
- Administration for Community Living programs to support family caregivers
- AARP Caregiving Resource Center
- ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center
- Caregiver Action Network—NFC Month 2015 outreach kit and other resources
- Family Caregiver Alliance—NFC Month 2015 daily blog and other resources
- National Alliance for Caregiving—NFC Month calendar of events and other resources
- Institute of Medicine study on family caregiving for older adults (in process)
- Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving
- Free archived webinars on working with family caregivers and other topics related to nursing home social work, offered by University of Iowa School of Social Work
- 2015 White House Conference on Aging—video archives, policy briefs, and other resources
Chris Herman, MSW, LICSW
NASW Senior Practice Associate
