New Jersey Caregiver Connection

• Financial Impact: Nine in ten family caregivers have incurred expenses while caring for their loved one, with transportation being the most common expense.
• Significant Time Commitment: Nearly six in ten (58%) family caregivers spend at least 21 hours per week providing care.
• Emotional and Financial Stress: Three in four (76%) current and former caregivers say they are stressed emotionally due to their caregiving responsibilities, and three in four (77%) working caregivers say they feel stressed in balancing their work and their family responsibilities.
• Decreased Support: Family caregivers who provided care during the pandemic say they feel more socially isolated and lonely (57%), have fewer family members and friends available to help (45%), and have a worse financial situation than before the pandemic (39%).

Read AARP New Jersey's full media statement here.

10 Questions to Ask if a Loved One is in a Nursing Home
Americans living and working in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic, accounting for roughly a quarter of all U.S. COVID-19 deaths. Here are 10 questions to ask if your loved one is in a nursing home or long-term care facility:

1. What is the status of COVID-19 vaccinations in the facility?
2. Is the facility screening and testing residents and staff for COVID-19 in line with government recommendations and regulations?
3. If COVID-19 is detected, is the facility ready to respond quickly to prevent further spread?
4. Has a positive case been identified at the facility in the past two weeks?
5. Is the facility managing visits in line with government regulations?
6. How is the facility helping residents stay connected with their loved ones virtually?
7. Does the facility have sufficient levels of personal protective equipment (PPE) — masks, face shields, hand sanitizer, gowns and gloves?
8. How is the facility communicating important COVID-19 information? 
9. Is the nursing home currently at full staffing levels for nurses, aides and other workers?
10. Are healthy-living programs back up and running?

Learn more about the 10 questions here.

AARP New Jersey is Fighting to Protect Your Loved Ones in Nursing Homes
AARP New Jersey is fighting to protect your loved ones in long-term care facilities. Our work has led to the recent enactment of laws that make bold and significant changes designed to improve the quality of care and protect the dignity of residents and staff.

The new laws include: prioritizing testing and personal protective equipment for long-term care facilities, virtual visitation for residents and their families when in-person visitation is not possible, adequate staffing and improved wages to enhance and stabilize the workforce, more oversight and funding for resident care. Learn more.

We also urged the state to require vaccinations for all long-term care staff, residents, visitors and volunteers. Read more.

Family Leave Insurance Program has Expanded as of July 1, 2020
Do you need to take time off from work to care for a loved one? AARP New Jersey has been fighting on behalf of the state's more than 1 million caregivers to expand the New Jersey Family Leave Insurance Program.

You may be eligible to receive Family Leave Insurance benefits to care for a child, spouse, parent or domestic partner, as well as parents-in-law, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, any blood relative, or anyone with whom you have a close, family-like relationship.

As of July 1, 2020, expanded benefits to the New Jersey Family Leave Insurance Program include:

• Increased time a caregiver can take off from 6 weeks to 12 weeks

• Increased maximum wage replacement a caregiver can receive from $667 per week up to $881 per week

• Job protection for people working at businesses with 30 or more employees, as opposed to businesses with 50 or more employees

• Increased public awareness by providing $1.2 million in funding for outreach and education
• Caring for a loved one who has been exposed or diagnosed with a communicable disease, including COVID-19, is now covered.
  

Visit the New Jersey Department of Labor here to learn more about the benefits, and you can find answers to the most frequently asked questions here.

To apply for Family Leave Insurance benefits, visit here.

5 Questions to Ask About Visiting Nursing Homes
Nursing home symbol.JPGNursing homes are starting to resume in-person visits for families in many states as COVID-19 restrictions ease. These visits will be different than before the pandemic, at least for some time. There may be limits on when, where and for how long you can see loved ones, and distancing rules will likely be in place.

AARP has developed some key questions to ask nursing homes, assisted living, and other long-term care facilities — and yourself — about when and how visitation might resume. View our list of questions