NYSCRC Appoints Director of $3 Million Workforce Initiative Funded by AmeriCorps Grant Targeting Six New York Counties 

Lisa Richards will help launch and direct a program that will train and place AmeriCorps Senior volunteers as respite providers with caregivers across the age and disability spectrums in Central New York State.

Lisa comes to us from the Ithaca College Gerontology Institute where she has worked in various roles on the Finger Lakes Geriatric Education Center (FLGEC) grant since 2018.

The FLGEC grant is a subcontract under the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program based at the University of Rochester Medical Center.    

Lisa also coordinated the programs and activities of a long-standing partnership between the Ithaca College and Longview, a senior living community. 

Before transitioning to Ithaca College to explore a whole new world of aging-related studies and services, Lisa spent 16 years in academic administration and communications management roles at Cornell University. She worked as an academic department administrator, an associate director of a research center and as a communications manager with the administrative unit of the New York State cooperative extension system.  

The target counties of the AmeriCorps project include Lewis, Oneida, Herkimer, Cortland, Tompkins, and Jefferson.

The primary focus of this project is Economic Opportunity/Workforce Development and Aging in Place/Respite. 

Learn more about project

A message from the Lewis County Office for the Aging

Voucher Program for Caregivers Provides Funds to Pay for Respite 

After a brief pause, NYSCRC's Caregiver Respite Voucher Program is up and running again! This program helps kinship caregivers and caregivers of people with chronic conditions pay for respite with a one-time voucher of up to $600. At this time, we are accepting applications from first-time applicants only.

This statewide program is caregiver-directed, which means caregivers have the freedom to choose how much to pay, when to take a break, and whom to hire (with a few exceptions). Caregivers are also responsible for hiring, firing, and training decisions. There is no income requirement. For more information, visit: https://www.nyscrc.org/respite-voucher-program, or contact Rebecca Hyde at 585-287-6391 or rhyde@lifespan-roch.org. Spanish-language assistance is available.  

Too often, there is a push and pull between caregiving and your career. The stresses of both are depicted in a recently released 9-minute film, "Ruth", directed by Alex Rollins Berg.

Read a Q & A with Berg, courtesy of the Alzheimer's Association

“Ruth” is available on YouTube, via Omeleto.

Rodríguez-Galán Named Faculty Fellow for Exhale Family Caregiver Initiative

Dr. Marta Rodríguez-Galán, an associate professor at St. John Fisher University, will help lead an initiative to reimagine and increase respite opportunities for family caregivers of older adults in the Rochester region.  

Learn More

NYSCRC Director, Lifespan's Relatives Raising Children Program Coordinator and Lifespan's President/COO Among Those to Advise Council on New York State’s Master Plan for Aging

Doris Green, Linda James and Ann Marie Cook have the ability to help influence New York's new Master Plan for Aging. Read more

Caregivers Come in All Shapes, Sizes and Ages

We don't often think of teens and young adults as caregivers, but in reality, they are and their responsibilities are immense. Meet the kids behind the scenes

The National Alliance for Caregiving Opens Phone Line for Family Caregivers to Talk About Their Mental Well-Being

Sponsored by Travere Therapeutics, the National Alliance for Caregiving is spearheading a project to advance the mental well-being of family caregivers in the United States. NAC wants to hear from family caregivers on the joys, challenges and struggles they've faced on their caregiving journey in order to better understand their needs and the supports and interventions that can be introduced to assist them.

Here's more information.

The message you leave will inform policy and practice efforts to improve support for family caregivers like you! All messages left will be anonymous, with only the transcript being used to help us advocate for change.

If you would prefer to write out your response rather than leave an audio message, you may do so here.

The LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston is seeking family caregivers of people with dementia for an intervention study. If you are a family caregiver living two or more hours from your care recipient and are interested in participating, please contact Evan Chunga or Dr. Verena Cimarolli. Learn more and share with other caregivers.

Bill Encouraging Training and Support for

Older Adult Caregivers is Reintroduced in the 

2023  NY Legislative Session

This bill would broaden the informal caregiver training program to include training and resources for older adults who are caregivers for minors. The term frail or disabled person has been replaced with person in need of assistance. Read more

Lunch & Learn: Kinship Families + Parent to Parent

Families face a lot of challenges – but when the kids have special needs, caregivers need extra support. Thursday, Feb. 16, 12 noon on Zoom  Register here

Preparing for Medicaid Recertifications and Managing COLA Increases -- What to do with excess income and resources? This webinar is geared towards disability providers, The Arc New York Chapters, Rep Payees, and other professionals who manage assets for people with excess income or resources. Sponsored by The Arc NY and NYSARC Trust Services.

Thursday, February 16, 2023 at 11 am EST

The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation’s National Paralysis Resource Center announces grant funding opportunities through its 2023 1st Cycle Direct Effect and Expanded Impact Quality of Life grants initiatives. Grant applications are due Wednesday, March 8, 2023, at 11:59 pm EST

AARP's 2023 Community Challenge is on its way!

Here's your opportunity learn more about this nationwide grant-based initiative aimed at improving communities for people of all ages. Application deadline is March 15, 2023.

The Association of Aging in New York has announced that the 2023 Aging Concerns Unite Us (ACUU) Conference is scheduled for June 27-28, 2023, in Albany, NY

Finger Lakes Geriatric Education Center will hold its 37th annual conference, Spanning the Continuum of Care: Innovations in the Practice of Age-Friendly Care, Friday, September 29, 2023. Registration for this virtual event opens in July.

Plans for the 2023 NYSCRC Annual Conference are underway. Details will be coming soon!

Does your organization need to be added to the NY Connects Resource Directory?

Please use this link to request that your organization be added to the Directory. Please note, the entity must provide a service to caregivers, including but not limited to respite care. There are additional inclusion/exclusion criteria—your request will be reviewed by the local NY Connects program for inclusion in the resource directory.

To learn more, call

1-800-342-9871, or go to

www.nyconnects.ny.gov

This project is supported, in part by grant number # 90LRLI0043, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Administration for Community Living policy.

Also funded in part by the Finger Lakes Geriatric Education Center funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) under the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program # U1QHP28738. This information or content and conclusions are those of the authors/speakers and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, DHHS, or the U.S. Government.