Senior Care
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Alberta Urban Municipalities Association encourage the government to develop creative programs and solutions that will offer family and extended family members the option to provide care for aging parents in a fashion similar to that offered through the “Kinship” Child Care Program.
WHEREAS it is the role of Government is to provide safety, health and welfare of people;
WHEREAS the Government of Alberta has identified a growing crisis to maintain an acceptable level of care for our aging population;
WHEREAS the Premier has on numerous occasions expressed concern and a desire to find alternative solutions to care for and maintain the dignity of our aging population;
WHEREAS in general people are more contented, healthy, and well cared-for when care is provided in a family home and by relatives;
WHEREAS costs borne by both the province and by the families of Alberta in caring for aging parents continue to increase and are unsustainable in the long-term;
WHEREAS the aging demographic and chronic lack of adequate housing and care solutions for seniors demands innovative solutions and the development of creative alternatives;
WHEREAS many families, if given an opportunity, would like to provide direct, in-home care for their aged parents but need options for maintaining income levels and/or standard of living; and
WHEREAS significant provincial and family cost savings could be realized by permitting family members to provide, when appropriate and within a good regulatory environment, direct in-home care and accommodation for aging relatives.
The aging population in Alberta represents a growing need and concern for the care of seniors. There is an ongoing shortage of living facilities for seniors who require assisted living and support, and the private opportunities can be financially out of reach for many Albertan families. Most two-parent families are also two-income families, which the continual increase in cost-of-living necessitates. Families placing their aging parents into assisted living facilities, however, can find their resources significantly stretched by the enormous associated costs.
In Alberta there is a program called 'Kinship Care' which offers parents requiring child care the option to pay family members for the provision of child care, and receive the same subsidies and tax breaks that are available to parents to place children in registered child care.
A program similar to 'Kinship Care' could be developed that offers family members an option to provide care to their parents and be compensated for this care. This concept would create a substantial savings potential to the overburdened health care system, allow family the ability to have compensation so they can stay at home and care for their loved ones and most importantly, allow the family who knows the aging family members best the ability to have time, respect and compassion in their closing days.
Alberta Seniors is working with Alberta Health Services to expand, improve and standardize home care. The province agrees that supporting care givers is an integral part of home care and that innovative approaches to increase support for caregivers should be considered. Alberta Health Services has increased home care spending by approximately 29% over the last four years, from $402 million in 2010/2011 to a forecasted expenditure of $518 million in 2014/2015.
AUMA will continue to monitor how the province supports Albertans caring for their aging family members.