Alabama Cares is a program designed to support family caregivers by providing training, assistance, and resources to help them take care of their aging loved ones and themselves.

Even though caregiving is rewarding, it can have a negative impact on the health and well-being of the caregiver. Caregiving has its greatest impact on the emotional health of caregivers, particularly the caregivers of persons with dementia and stroke, who are at the highest risk for depression and anxiety disorders.

Alabama Cares strives to keep families together and to allow seniors to age at home instead of in costly long-term care facilities.

Those eligible for services through Alabama Cares are:

• Caregivers of older adults (60+)
• Senior Caregivers (60+) of children age 18 or younger.
• Caregivers of adults with Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia.

A sliding fee scale is used to determine the client’s shared cost of certain services. Cost sharing judgments are made based on the care recipient’s income. If the care recipient’s income falls below the national poverty level, the client is not expected to pay anything for the services. In any case, contributions (donations) are accepted by the Area Agency on Aging for all programs.