Helpful resources for caregivers

If you’re helping look after an older relative and happen to subscribe to our Consumer Reports Money Adviser newsletter, watch for your June 2008 issue. It features an article on caregiving when you and your relative live miles apart.

But whether you’re in a distant state or the very same house, caregiving presents some challenges. Here are three useful resources we came across at the recently concluded 2008 Aging in America conference. 

• The Family Caregiver Alliance offers numerous fact sheets and other information. The group also plans to launch a new, state-by-state list of resources called the Family Care Navigator in the near future.
• The National Center on Senior Transportation, a government-funded program administered by Easter Seals, offers this guide to local transportation options for older people and their caregivers.
• If you need help assessing an older person’s needs or arranging for appropriate services, you may want to consult a geriatric care manager. The National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers provides this guide to the field, along with an online directory of members that you can search by city or Zip code (click on “Find a Care Manager”).