1. Arizona Caregiver Coalition Advocacy National Alliance for Caregiving Quarterly Coalition Call October 24, 2012

2. David A. Besst Family Caregiver Support Specialist Arizona Department of Economic Security, Division of Aging & Adult Services 1789 W. Jefferson, 950A Phoenix, Arizona 85007 Phone: 602-542-6431 E-Mail: DBesst@azdes.gov Arizona Caregiver Resource Line: 1-888-737-7494 www.azcaregiver.orgwww.azcaregiver.org www.azrespite.org www.azkincare.orgwww.azrespite.orgwww.azkincare.org

3. Arizona Caregiver Coalition The mission of the Arizona Caregiver Coalition is to be the catalyst for improving the quality of life for family caregivers through collaboration, advocacy and access to supportive and educational resources. Mission Statement

4. Arizona Caregiver Coalition Federal and State statutes call for a “coalition” to support respite efforts Governor’s Advisory Council on Aging - Informal Caregiving Sub-Committee Caregiver Rally on Capitol Lawn ACC launched at Governor’s Conference on Aging in May of 2008

5. C.A.R.E. is the focus of the ACC Collaboration, Advocacy, Resources, Education A-Advocacy Committee has been active since 2010, after laying low during worst of crisis Core of committee came from original Lifespan Respite advocates – Experience Matters! LRP grant activities provide venue for renewed advocacy Arizona Caregiver Coalition

6. Arizona’s Lifespan Respite Program Coordinate with other respite services Support the growth and maintenance of a statewide coalition Create an evaluation tool for recipients of respite care to assure quality of care Development and implementation of new caregiver assessment tool Develop and conduct statewide awareness campaign Establish a statewide Caregiver Resource Line

7. Arizona’s Advocacy Agenda Awareness Campaign was critical first step  Educate consumers (voters) about the value of family caregivers to our society, and specifically related to long term care  Create understanding that caregivers need support  Frame issue in a positive light  Directly target legislators and other stakeholders with special campaign elements  Initiate public support for coalition activities Executive Leadership group help committees develop within overall goals of Arizona Caregiver Coalition Goal 4 of the ACC is simple and straight forward:  Advocate on behalf of caregiver issues statewide

8. Arizona’s Advocacy Agenda A-Advocacy Committee meets monthly Identified the following objectives in 2011  Partner with other like-minded organizations  Develop relationships with elected officials and decision-makers  Develop and maintain a database of advocacy partners and target audiences  Identify specific issues that can be impacted  Develop a methodology for research and action  Develop and share useful sources of current caregiving information Early in 2012 started active strategy to find champions in new legislature, targeting one in each party in both Senate and House

9. Arizona’s Advocacy Agenda Core Advocacy Team established to meet with stakeholders and make presentations Identified champions through informal canvassing  Faith-based organizations helped  Picked strategically based on committee assignments within Senate/House  Held series of meetings to gauge interest Once identified, champions targeted with concerted campaign to inform them of scope of coalition influence  Thank you notes from various coalition members  Ongoing informational mailings  Site visits to provider agencies, including visits with actual caregivers and their loved ones

10. Arizona’s Advocacy Agenda Refined “ASK” to a single request for upcoming legislative session Restore $500K funding for Lifespan Respite  Provides match for federal grant and future LRP allocations  Supports holistic approach to serving family caregivers  Allows continued development of consumer directed service provision  Serves gap populations that are underserved by existing programs  Provides data to guide future support efforts Set stage for next “ASK” in upcoming year – Grandparent Program  Similarly, this would again re-establish a program that was defunded during the fiscal crisis  $1M program annually served about 1200 grandparents and 2500 grandchildren

11. Arizona’s Advocacy Agenda Current status of LRP funding “ASK”  Champions from both parties have signed on  At suggestion of legislators, setup meeting with DES to have $500K added to upcoming budget request  Advocacy Team met with DES after I prepped the situation  Prompted discussion at highest level within DES, but was decided to not add to budget request for variety of reasons  Champions just last week agreed to begin work on a joint bill for LRP Coalition planning Caregiver Rally on Capitol Lawn  To help support efforts within the legislative process and create awareness  DES supportive of rally, with reservations  Training caregivers to act as advocates and “Tell their story!”

12. Questions??? Comments??? For more information, please contact: David Besst Caregiver Support Specialist ADES, Division of Aging and Adult Services 602-542-6431dbesst@azdes.gov