Love Doesn't Pay The Bills

This is a must listen episode!  Elissa Strauss brings to the podcast her deep contemplation of all aspects of caregiving. Elissa is the author of "When You Care", which is described as an “urgent and necessary book” by Rebecca Traister, New York Times bestselling author and we agree.  How do we see care as the huge profound experience that it is?: Care is just as worthy of storytelling, respect, and material support as mountain climbing, and full of opportunitites to engage with the core questions around being human.  read the book

In this re-launch of the podcast, we talk data around caregiving.   Denise Brown is with us to talk about data, why it matters and her tool to help you view some of your own numbers.  Why do we need the numbers around care?  We have some compelling reasons.  Explore your own caregiving statsThe Data Story of Caregiving event registrationDenise supports individuals managing difficult life experiences with coaching, planning and training. Through her work, Denise helps clients find hope, possibilities and a path forward. Denise began helping individuals who care for a family member in 1990 and launched a business to help them in 1995. She created one of the first online caregiving communities in 1996 which she managed until its sale in 2020.Denise now develops and delivers training programs for the workplace and for individuals who want to coach family caregivers. More than 400 individuals from eight different countries have enrolled in her training programs offered through her company, The Caregiving Years Training Academy.Denise began helping her parents in 2004 after her father’s bladder cancer diagnosis. Her mom, who had Parkinson’s disease, died in August 2022, one year to the date after Denise’s brother died. Her father died in July 2023.You can connect with Denise via her community, CaringOurWay.com.

Kitty Eisle, executive producer for podcasts with Texas Public Radio and NPR, as well the host of Twenty-Four Seven: A podcast about caregiving, joins us to discuss caregiving for parents, how to prepare ahead of time for caregiving needs, and why it's important to know your neighbors.

We're joined by Emily Kenway, the author of "Who Cares: The Hidden Crisis of Caregiving, and How We Solve It". "Who cares" is a very loving memoir of Emily's own caregiving experience. It also is a great work of advocacy by imagining the changes that would happen throughout our world if we started from the default assumption that all people will be caregivers at some time in their lives.https://www.emilykenway.com/about

Connie Siskowski, President of the American Association of Caregiving Youth, joins us to discuss youth caregivers. Her program recognizes and supports young people who are caregiversFind out more about the American Association of Caregiving Youth

Melinda Kavanaugh describes what her organization YCARE does to support young caregivers. Young caregivers are very frequently overlooked, yet perform many of the same tasks as adults with many of the same responsibilities. Hear how Melinda brings youth caregiving education and a chance to connect to same age peers with similar experiences.https://uwm.edu/ycare/

We're joined by Kim Evon to discuss California caregivers and the large gap in staffing that leads to reliability issues in caregiving. We discuss why family caregivers may have difficulties working full-time and what happens when there's not enough care to go around to those who need it.transcript

transcriptElise's letter on healthcare workforce shortagesANCOR's report "The State of America’s Direct Support Workforce Crisis 2022"Elise Augilar, Director of Federal Relations at ANCOR discusses the shortage of (non family) direct support providers. We discuss the need for DSP jobs to be properly recognized and paid.

Maressa Brown joins us to discuss possible ways that some family caregivers may be able to get paid for work. read the full article on care.comhttps://maressabrown.com/

Calli Ross is back to discuss the current state of the movement in OR to allow parent paid caregivers through Medicaid Home and Community Based Services. Just in time for mother's day, hundreds of mothers in Oregon lost their income for meeting the extraordinary needs of their children as the state of emergency which temporarily allowed parent paid caregivers expires without a permanent replacement yet in place.

Nicole Jorwic, chief of advocacy and campaigns at Caring Across Generations, discusses the personal cost borne within families for providing care when there aren't enough care workers for hire, as well as what it would mean to make more of that cost public.https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/3980173-the-care-tax-the-cost-of-the-lack-of-care-for-caregivers/transcript#family #caregivers #support #DSP #careworkers #carecrisis

This episode is about the Oklahoma Caring for Caregivers Act which will, if it passes the state sentate, provide a tax credit to reimburse family caregivers who have spent money on the care of their loved one. It's one piece of asstance, dwarfed by the estimated labor value of 6.6 billion dollars annually provided by Oklahoman family caregivers. Still, the bipartisan support of such measures around the country, could lead one to believe that we as a nation are moving in the direction that future family caregivers will be well cared for themselves. We discuss the relation between policy on the state and Federal level, with state programs often being incubators for Federal policy.AARP's Valuing the Invaluable Report 2023AARP's caregiver resourceshttps://www.oklahoman.com/story/opinion/2023/04/14/guest-caring-for-caregivers-act-would-offset-costs-for-oklahoma-families/70101049007/transcript

Guest Manjari Raman helps define the relationship between caregivers and employers and how to have conversations about accomodations and flexibility in the workplace.TranscriptRead the full report

Danielle Miura is a family caregiver and certified financial advisor with a focus on helping other family caregivers stay financial stable. We discuss savings, insurance policies, and how caregivers can feel more secure in their budget.https://spark-fin.com/Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uA9LgaiR3kn-ehXWaiO77iooUveb4HdY/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=106863056658610480232&rtpof=true&sd=true

Dr. Lucille Carriere is a psychologist and Angie Ruvo Endowed Chair for Caregiving at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. We discuss stress and impacted mental health amongst caregivers, as well as reducing anxiety amid responsibilites.https://my.clevelandclinic.org/locations/nevada/specialties/caregiver-resourcesTranscript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yLESq3bks9PddkEcnh7L_8JP188tK5Bb/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=106863056658610480232&rtpof=true&sd=true

The Guest this week is Calli Ross who is a family caregiver and leader in the movement in Oregon to allow parents to be paid for providing care to their minor children with disabilities. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1750726871736838https://www.facebook.com/ADSOregonhttps://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/mediaplayer/?clientID=4879615486&eventID=2023021052

Susan Cybele is a caregiver to two family members and a ceramic artist. We discuss the importance of creativity, respite and independence for both caregiver and care recipient.https://labiasculptures.com/

Guest Shasta Kearns Moore makes a return to discuss two bills recently addressed in the Oregon State Senate. These bills represent parents advocating to be eligible to work paid positions as caregivers to their children with disabilities.https://www.medicalmotherhood.com/https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/mediaplayer?clientID=4879615486&eventID=2023021052transcript:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wn_NjRINMxJ3Vf9n5uO3qmRmho2sd-kx/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=116946706116646252571&rtpof=true&sd=true*Please note: transcriptions are automatically generated, and may have inaccuracies.

Guest Carlen Maddux, author of A Path Revealed: How Hope, Love, and Joy Found Us Deep in a Maze Called Alzheimer’s, shares the personal experience of caregiving for his wife. We discuss family connections and how to keep them strong when faced with Alzheimer's.http://www.carlenmaddux.com/https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E_0dsXqav-nYYP48oWIokXqmh_8KIil5/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=116946706116646252571&rtpof=true&sd=true*Please note: transcriptions are automatically generated, and may have inaccuracies.

Part 2 of 2:Guests Amanda and Scott Mazdzer share their experiences as parents and caregivers of a child with a disability, as well as a mental healthcare provider's perspective on mental wellbeing for caregivers. We discuss outside support systems and the ways they reduce caregiver stress. amandamazdzer@hotmail.comTranscript:https://docs.google.com/document/d/11HhKo87e8RPCbrO3WKJ1W4O1TEg5wnJh/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=116946706116646252571&rtpof=true&sd=true*Please note: transcriptions are automatically generated, and may have inaccuracies.