Caregiving

Nearly 20 percent of South Dakotans age 45 and over are currently providing unpaid care to an adult relative or friend. Many of them are juggling those caregiving duties with full- or part-time jobs.

No matter where you are in the caregiver journey, these local agencies and organizations can help make the process easier

AARP SD and the 211 Helpline Center are teaming up to provide free local support to family caregivers!

For the first time since AARP began publishing the Scorecard in 2011, more than half of Medicaid long-term care dollars nationwide for older adults and people with physical disabilities went to home- and community-based services instead of nursing homes and other institutions.

AARP’s new Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Scorecard finds that care provided in the United States for older adults and people with disabilities is inadequate. The report finds major gaps in every state, such as the cost of home care, the long-term care workforce and support for family caregivers.

Family caregivers can sign up for phone or text support by calling the South Dakota 211 Helpline Center. The caregiver support program, which AARP South Dakota helped to pilot two years ago, is free and available on an ongoing basis.

The unpaid care provided by the 80,000 family caregivers in South Dakota is valued at nearly $1.4 billion.

AARP and South Dakota’s Helpline Center are testing a service that allows family caregivers to sign up for phone or text support from trained staff. Now in its second year, the pilot program will continue to accept new participants.

Learn what you need to know before you go so you can keep yourself and your loved one safe.

Do you live a rural area and care for someone with memory loss? Millions of rural caregivers provide crucial support to loved ones living with memory loss, Alzheimer's or other dementia. These same caregivers often feel stressed and isolated as they try to find services and support for their loved one and themselves, particularly during these unprecedented times. An online workshop may be able to help. AARP SD is helping to expand the reach of a study being done by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco who are looking for family caregivers to participate in an online workshop and study.