The Diverse Elders Coalition (DEC) was awarded a $548,678 planning grant from The John A. Hartford Foundation to identify and address the unique needs of family caregivers in racially and ethnically diverse communities, American Indian and Alaska Native communities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender (LGBT) communities. The grant — “Addressing Unmet Family Caregiving Needs in Diverse Older Communities” — provides funding to the DEC to research disparities in access to linguistically and culturally competent health care and social services among those served by the coalition and develop programs that will meet those caregivers’ unique needs.
The DEC is a national advocacy coalition working to improve aging in communities of color. The National Indian Council on Aging is a member, along with the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging, the National Hispanic Council on Aging, the National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, SAGE — Advocacy and Services for LGBT Elders and the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center.
The funding provided to the DEC by The John A. Hartford Foundation will support a literature review, national survey and focus groups on caregiving in diverse communities. It will also facilitate the development of training and educational programming for healthcare and social service providers, policymakers and family caregivers themselves. This grant will generate action plans for implementation of that programming in subsequent years.
