Road Map for Aging New Yorkers

At the end of June, Governor Kathy Hochul released the final report for New York’s first-ever Master Plan for Aging (MPA). The report contains more than 100 recommendations aimed at helping New Yorkers age with dignity, independence, and support.

NYSCRC Executive Director Doris Green, who sat on several MPA subcommittees to support the 4.1 million family caregivers in New York, said, “We are pleased to see our recommendations included in the final plan. I look forward to sharing any news on possible implementation of these recommendations.”

New York State has the fourth-largest population of older adults in the US. The state Department of Health, Office for the Aging, and Department of State coordinated the MPA effort.

Read the report

NAC’s Jason Resendez, on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act: “The ground is shifting under us like never before, but we're still standing.”

Last week, after the President signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) put out a statement calling the law “a profound betrayal” of Americans who are navigating complex care for friends and family. The statement pointed to the law’s harsh work requirements and slashes to Medicaid. Read NAC’s statement

Jason Resendez, NAC’s President & CEO, vowed to continue to advocate for infrastructure and support systems for family caregivers. “The ground is shifting under us like never before, but we're still standing. And from where I sit, I see a movement that's stronger and more united than ever,” he said. 

It Takes a Healthcare Village

Empowering family caregivers takes a multi-faceted approach. One of those facets is the healthcare community.

During last month’s Aging Concerns Unite Us (ACUU) Conference in Albany, CWRC’s Colleen Salisbury and NYSCRC’s Doris Green and Sharon Cackett presented “CWRC Expansion: Effectively Engaging the Healthcare Community to Support Caregivers​.”

Their presentation focused on defining respite, the history of the Lifespan Respite Program, partnerships and advocacy, outreach, and NYSCRC’s new Respite Registry. View presentation ​

From left to right: Colleen Salisbury (CWRC Outreach Coordinator), Doris Green (NYSCRC Director), and Sharon Cackett (NYSCRC Assistant Director)

What’s On Your Mind?

We’re always eager to discover new and engaging ideas for our upcoming webinars and podcasts. What topics are currently most important and meaningful to you, both intellectually and personally? Drop me a line using the contact form at the bottom of my webpage or email me directly at mberk@lifespan-roch.org with your ideas and comments!

We’re seeking individuals and professionals who provide or recommend respite care services within the state. Would you be willing to join us in this important effort?

In 2022 NYSCRC joined 10 other states to pilot the National Respite Care Provider Training curriculum (NRCPT). Since that time, over 150 people have taken this free training, preparing them to provide respite confidently and competently. Explore the NRCPT

This year, NYSCRC is launching the free Respite Registry. This registry will include a listing of individual respite providers who have completed the NRCPT and who wish to provide a break for family caregivers in their community.

As we launch this Respite Registry, we are seeking members for a short-term work group to strategize how to best market, populate, and manage the Respite Registry. The Registry is now live and ready to populate. We need your perspective!

If you are interested in joining us with this valuable initiative, please reach out to nyscrc@lifespan-roch.org

Statewide Caregiver Forums Report

This spring, NYSCRC, NYSOFA (NYS Office for the Aging), and the Association on Aging in NY came together to host Caregiver Forums in four regions, and 140 people participated.

For those who were unable to attend, we are providing links to presentation videos and handouts. Use the agenda as a guide to what might be interesting to you. View Caregiver Forum Materials

The afternoon of all four sessions was rated as the highlight of the forums. Teresa Lawrence from International Deliverables, Inc. led a creative problem-solving activity where everyone had an opportunity to weigh in and be heard. Through a brainstorming process, generated ideas were ranked, grouped by similarity, and given a label that best summed up the ideas.

The same question was posed at each forum: What might be all the actions we could take to positively influence/impact policy changes to address challenges this year?

The chart below shows the top three ranked ideas in each region where the forums were held.

Podcast focuses on Support for Millions of Family Caregivers in the US

INside the OUTcomes recently aired a podcast focusing on family caregiving. Guest Conor Callahan, is the author of a new policy brief, "Supporting America's 53 Million Family Caregivers," funded by a grant to the Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. He is also a senior policy associate on the caregiving and workforce policy team at ADvancing States Listen to this podcast

• The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America is offering Alzheimer’s Disease: Beyond Signs and Symptoms, a live interactive webinar/course that explains the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, its risk factors, and its symptoms. Two CE credits are available. July 16 from 11:00 AM – 1:10 PM. Learn more and register
  

• Administration for Community Living’s (ACL) No Wrong Door Resource Center invites you to participate in an upcoming webinar, Seamless Transitions: Supporting Patients With Chronic Illness Across Care Settings. The webinar will focus on community-based organizations effectively supporting people with chronic conditions during hospital discharge planning, transition back to home, and post discharge, as well as long-term supports to improve community tenure and avoid hospital readmissions. Wednesday, July 16, from 3:00-4:00 PM. Register here
  

• You’re invited to participate in a dissertation research study exploring Age-Friendly policies in New York State. A Doctoral Candidate in Public Administration from West Chester University is seeking input from a broad range of participants of all ages, backgrounds, and communities. Learn more about the project and help shape future community policies and programs.
  

• Caregiver Wellness and Respite Center is offering virtual series of Powerful Tools for Caregivers classes. This six-week program is scheduled to take place every Tuesday from August 12 through September 16, 2025, from 10:00 to 11:30 AM. It aims to empower informal caregivers with essential skills for their own well-being while they support their loved ones. Find out more about the series on our events page and register to participate

• The Caregiver Simulation is coming to Rochester! Dive into the trials and triumphs of informal caregiving with our engaging simulation. Gain a fresh or revitalized appreciation for the vital contributions of informal caregivers and the frameworks established to assist them. It’s a perfect event for case managers, social workers, health professionals, students, employers, seasoned social service professionals, policy makers, and advocates. August 6 from 1 to 4 PM at Monroe Community Hospital. Learn more and register

Would you like to add your organization 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 visit www.nyconnects.ny.gov 

This project is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $1,375,000 with 75 percentage funded by ACL/HHS and $458,330 and 25 percentage funded by non-government source(s). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.