Today's NY Times reports that the Obama Administration's 2010 budget includes $102.5 million in support for programs specifically targeted at family caregivers. The bad news is that $102.5 million isn't a very big number. Especially when you consider that AARP estimates that there are over 44 million family caregivers in the United States. Evaluated in these terms, that works out to less than $3.00 per caregiver.
But I believe that the good news here outweighs the bad. And the good news is that this tiny line item in the President's budget is a HUGE acknowledgement that the well-being of family caregivers is a growing issue that requires national attention and support. In other words, this is a start. A first step toward making the issue of family caregiving a part of our national conversation. I believe that this conversation will resonate so clearly in homes across the country that it won't be long before the needs of family caregivers begin to appear on our lawmakers' radar.
These first steps are small steps. But despite their size, they serve the important purpose of starting us down the right path.
Comments