Family caregivers as case managers. A statewide model for enhancing consumer choice.

Families spend considerably more time caring for their relatives than service providers do. Most family caregivers of persons with dementing illnesses express a strong preference to be their own case managers. This article describes the history, philosophy, and service components of a model statewide system of caregiver resource centers serving families and caregivers of cognitively impaired adults in California. An overview of the population served and salient characteristics is provided. California's Caregiver Resource Center system utilizes a philosophy of service planning, coordination, and delivery that is unusual among publicly funded programs in the United States: It seeks to give caregivers the specialized information, support and training to enable them to become their own case managers for their loved ones. Vesting authority about care decisions with the caregiver is considered central to the implementation of this innovative family support system.