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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION | ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, Family caregivers providing care to loved ones | ||||||
3 | help make it possible for older adults, people with | ||||||
4 | disabilities, and veterans to live independently in their | ||||||
5 | homes and communities, and they are the backbone of the care | ||||||
6 | system in Illinois and across the United States; and | ||||||
7 | WHEREAS, AARP, a national nonprofit dedicated to | ||||||
8 | empowering people to choose how they live as they age, has | ||||||
9 | released data to show the significant challenges family | ||||||
10 | caregivers experience; and | ||||||
11 | WHEREAS, There are approximately 1.3 million family | ||||||
12 | caregivers in Illinois; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, Family caregivers in the State provide an | ||||||
14 | estimated 1.21 billion hours of unpaid care annually at an | ||||||
15 | economic value of $21 billion; and | ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, Providing care to a loved one can create a | ||||||
17 | financial challenge for family caregivers, with them spending | ||||||
18 | more than $7,200 per year in out-of-pocket costs on average | ||||||
19 | nationally, or a quarter of their income on caregiving | ||||||
20 | activities, with African American and Hispanic/Latino | ||||||
21 | caregivers on average spending a higher percentage of their |
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1 | income on caregiving responsibilities; and | ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, Family caregivers include all unpaid individuals | ||||||
3 | of all ages who are caring for individuals with disabilities, | ||||||
4 | chronic or other health conditions, and/or functional | ||||||
5 | limitations; and | ||||||
6 | WHEREAS, Family caregivers, who perform a wide range of | ||||||
7 | care, from providing assistance with a variety of activities | ||||||
8 | such as meal preparation, bathing, dressing, transportation, | ||||||
9 | and managing finances to handling more intensive tasks such as | ||||||
10 | nursing and wound care, medication management, and care | ||||||
11 | coordination, are vital to enabling older adults and persons | ||||||
12 | with disabilities to remain living in their homes and | ||||||
13 | communities; and | ||||||
14 | WHEREAS, Despite the fact that providing care in homes and | ||||||
15 | communities is generally less costly than providing care in | ||||||
16 | institutional settings, financial strains associated with | ||||||
17 | family caregiving arise from several factors, and these may | ||||||
18 | include needing to cut back on hours at work, taking unpaid | ||||||
19 | leave, retiring early, or even quitting a job; and | ||||||
20 | WHEREAS, In the workplace, family caregivers often face | ||||||
21 | loss of earnings, job insecurity, and a lack of promotions, | ||||||
22 | health insurance, and employer retirement contributions; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, Many family caregivers report that financial | ||||||
2 | challenges from caregiving have caused them to resort to | ||||||
3 | adverse financial strategies, such as withdrawing savings, | ||||||
4 | cutting back on their own health care spending, decreasing | ||||||
5 | contributions towards retirement, and taking loans to make | ||||||
6 | ends meet; and | ||||||
7 | WHEREAS, The emotional toll of family caregivers rises | ||||||
8 | when the responsibilities of the caregiver role increase, | ||||||
9 | including the amount and duration of care and the performance | ||||||
10 | of medical or nursing duties, in addition to the perceived | ||||||
11 | lack of choice in taking on the caregiver role; and | ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, Chronic stress caused by family caregiving may | ||||||
13 | have negative health impacts on the caregiver which may result | ||||||
14 | in depression, psychological distress, decreased self-care, | ||||||
15 | and poorer physical health; and | ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, Caregiver training, respite care, and other | ||||||
17 | supports are powerful tools that make an intensely difficult | ||||||
18 | job easier and enable family caregivers to carry on with their | ||||||
19 | responsibilities, prevent burnout and injury, and better | ||||||
20 | manage the variety of duties they take on in order to provide | ||||||
21 | the best possible care to their loved ones; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, It is important for Illinois to be committed to | ||||||
2 | enacting solutions to support family caregivers in their | ||||||
3 | efforts to provide care to loved ones, allowing residents to | ||||||
4 | safely and comfortably age in their own homes, helping to | ||||||
5 | preserve communities, and avoiding the expense of | ||||||
6 | institutional care; and | ||||||
7 | WHEREAS, Demand for these programs is high, but funding is | ||||||
8 | limited, and more needs to be done to improve the plight of | ||||||
9 | family caregivers; and | ||||||
10 | WHEREAS, It is imperative to understand, recognize, and | ||||||
11 | support the compassionate and difficult work done by family | ||||||
12 | caregivers in Illinois and throughout the U.S.; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition was | ||||||
14 | created in December 2021 and now includes over 300 members who | ||||||
15 | make up a diverse representation of unpaid, informal | ||||||
16 | caregivers and organizations who serve and/or interact with | ||||||
17 | unpaid family caregivers across the State; and | ||||||
18 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Area Agencies on Aging have | ||||||
19 | developed a statewide network of caregiver resource centers to | ||||||
20 | serve unpaid family and informal caregivers; and | ||||||
21 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition and the |
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1 | Illinois Area Agencies on Aging were selected to represent | ||||||
2 | Illinois and were recognized at the inaugural National Family | ||||||
3 | Caregiver Conference in Washington, D.C. in late October 2023, | ||||||
4 | with Illinois being one of only 10 states invited to | ||||||
5 | participate in this national conference and advocacy day; | ||||||
6 | therefore, be it | ||||||
7 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
8 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
9 | we urge the passage of important policies to better support | ||||||
10 | family caregivers, particularly by enacting policies that: | ||||||
11 | (1) Provide increased funding for Illinois' Community | ||||||
12 | Care Program, Home Delivered Meals, the Illinois Family | ||||||
13 | Caregiver Act, Illinois Area Agencies on Aging, Illinois | ||||||
14 | Case Coordination Units, Long-Term and Home Care | ||||||
15 | Ombudsman, and other older adult programs and resources | ||||||
16 | for Illinois caregivers at the Illinois Department on | ||||||
17 | Aging and other State agencies, and examine policy changes | ||||||
18 | to improve the navigability of these resources; | ||||||
19 | (2) Improve the inclusion of family caregivers in | ||||||
20 | their loved one's care and hospital discharge and | ||||||
21 | planning, and provide them with the education, training, | ||||||
22 | and support they need, including as their loved one moves | ||||||
23 | from one place of care to another, in Hospital at Home | ||||||
24 | programs, in Medicare more broadly, and in measures of | ||||||
25 | provider engagement with and in support of family |
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1 | caregivers and family caregivers' experience of care and | ||||||
2 | support, and support veterans and their caregivers; | ||||||
3 | (3) Increase access to options and eligibility for | ||||||
4 | care at home, including but not limited to providing | ||||||
5 | permanent financial protections for the spouses of | ||||||
6 | individuals receiving Medicaid Home and Community Based | ||||||
7 | Services, incentivizing Home and Community Based Services | ||||||
8 | expansion, expanding caregiver and senior support options | ||||||
9 | and resources in the State's Community Care Program, and | ||||||
10 | more; | ||||||
11 | (4) Attract and retain direct care workers through | ||||||
12 | increased pay and benefits, improved training, career | ||||||
13 | pathways, and other job improvement initiatives; and | ||||||
14 | (5) Provide financial relief for family caregivers, | ||||||
15 | such as through a family caregiver income tax credit, to | ||||||
16 | help offset a portion of caregiving expenses paid by | ||||||
17 | caregivers; and be it further | ||||||
18 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
19 | delivered to all Illinois constitutional officers, the Speaker | ||||||
20 | and Minority Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives, | ||||||
21 | and the President and Minority Leader of the Illinois Senate. |