Section 20.34. Caregiver education and training

(a) General. The purpose of caregiver education and training is to strengthen caregiving skills and ease the burden of caregiving, with special attention to health problems of carereceivers, coping skills for caregivers and the performance of appropriate personal care tasks. For the purpose of this Program, caregiver education shall be carried out on a face-to-face basis or, at a minimum, through videotape instruction. Printed educational materials may be used to supplement these activities.

(b) Service activities. The service activities of caregiver education may consist of a variety of approaches designed to reach the general caregiver population in the community. Area agencies on aging shall take steps to ensure that opportunities for caregiver education are readily accessible to caregivers under the Program. Activities include the following:

(1) The review of existing assessment documentation, and intensive exploration of the educational needs of individual caregivers.

(2) The development of programming to meet the educational needs of individual Program caregivers and groups of Program caregivers.

(3) Hands-on training to develop a caregiver’s skill in performing an essential task of caregiving such as bathing.

(4) The development of an educational library. An educational library may contain either written or videotaped material, and shall promote both individual or group Program caregiver utilization of this material.

(5) Special ‘‘caregiver days,’’ such as events held in recognition of National Caregivers Week or Older Americans Month. These ‘‘Caregiver Days’’ may consist of educational programs, group interaction or group review of educational videotapes.

(6) Support group activities, including educational programming.

(7) The review of educational videotapes by individual caregivers in their homes.

(8) The facilitation of caregiver access to educational services not available directly from the Program.

(c) Funding caregiver education. The area agency on aging is not required to fund as a core service all caregiver education services available. In developing caregiver education services, area agencies on aging shall rely heavily upon other resources of the area agency on aging and local resources available elsewhere in the community. Program plans shall contain minimal reliance upon funding appropriated under this chapter to fund caregiver education activities.