The Diverse Elders Coalition (DEC), of which the National Indian Council on Aging (NICOA) is a member, was awarded a $548,678 planning grant from The John A. Hartford Foundation to identify and address the unique needs of family caregivers in racially and ethnically diverse communities, American Indian and Alaska Native communities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender (LGBT) communities.
The DEC is a national advocacy coalition working to improve aging in communities of color. NICOA is a member, along with the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging, the National Hispanic Council on Aging, the National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, SAGE — Advocacy and Services for LGBT Elders and the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center.
The grant — “Addressing Unmet Family Caregiving Needs in Diverse Older Communities” — provided funding to the DEC to research disparities in access to linguistically and culturally competent health care and social services among those served by the coalition and to develop programs that would meet those caregivers’ unique needs. The funding provided to the DEC by The John A. Hartford Foundation led to the creation of the “Caring for Those Who Care: Meeting the Needs of Diverse Family Caregivers” curriculum, which facilitates the development of training and educational programming for healthcare and social service providers, policymakers and family caregivers themselves.
Much of the research and many of the statistics cited in the training were the result of a 15-month planning grant, during which we completed a literature review, a survey of diverse family caregivers and a series of focus groups with family caregivers in diverse communities. The research was conducted nationwide, in eight languages, and was led by the elders and caregivers represented by the coalition.
Download the Caring for Those Who Care: Meeting the Needs of Diverse Family Caregivers toolkit and use it to help your community. This toolkit offers important information on what providers need to know, and key pieces from the comprehensive training curriculum. Resources from the curriculum include:
- 1-Hour Training Overview
- Are Diverse Caregivers Getting the Help They Need?
- COVID-19 Resources for Diverse Family Caregivers
- What Providers Should Know About American Indian Family Caregivers
The training curriculum teaches how to identify and address the unique needs and caregiving realities of Native caregivers. Participants will gain an understanding of how culture impacts Native caregivers’ perceptions of care and their health outcomes, and develop skills to deliver Native-competent, person-directed care to improve health outcomes among Native caregivers.
Whether you’ve already attended one or more of the trainings, or this is your first time looking into what’s available to help you support diverse family caregivers, we think you’ll find these resources to be invaluable in building a more welcoming, supportive practice.
The Diverse Elders Coalition has recently updated their “Caring for Those Who Care: Meeting the Needs of Diverse Family Caregivers” training and will be accepting new training requests! This training is rooted in principles that champion best practices in working with family caregivers from diverse communities.
