Volunteers Can't Close the Nation's Caregiving Gap for Frail Seniors

Volunteerism alone cannot bridge the yawning gap between caregivers and frail seniors in the United States, even with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) trying to promote more volunteer caregiving via the just-launched Community Care Corps program, writes Forbes contributor Howard Gleckman. Author of the book "Caring for Our Parents" and a senior fellow at The Urban Institute, Gleckman notes that the initiative is vague on important details, including the kinds of work volunteers will perform. Moreover, the program is in danger of succumbing to excessive bureaucracy, and there is no guarantee that it is compatible with other volunteer efforts for helping older adults. Congressional funding for the program is only earmarked for about a year, which will make it difficult for local groups to build out the required infrastructure, he further notes. There also is no clarity on how the program will complement paid home caregivers. Community Care Corps can realize some key goals by engaging people to support older adults and people with disabilities in their communities, as well as by training people to support seniors. But solving the growing caregiver crisis will require far more investment than the Trump administration has offered, Gleckman concludes.