When the United Seniors were in Annapolis on January 19th, one man approached me about services that might be available to someone who takes care of a senior. He is a member of the “sandwich” generation and has children and cares for a parent.
Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code governs who would be considered a dependent for tax purposes. In essence, they must be a family member and you must provide over one half of the support for this person, unless no one single person provides over one half of the support. (You would probably need to talk to your tax professional with the specifics to see if you qualify on this issue.)
I also contacted the Department of Human Resources to see who administered programs for seniors. I soon got a call from Felicia French at the Department of Aging about a program called the National Family Caregiver Support Program which is housed in the 19 local Area Agencies on Aging throughout the State of Maryland. It also supports Grandparent caregivers who are taking care of their grandchildren. For more information about this program or to request information or services, contact the local Area Agencies on Aging. The number in Charles County is 301-934-9305.
The next week I noticed in the Maryland Independent that Chesapeake-Potomac Home Health offers an elder care provider referral service. By calling 877-770-1847, seniors and caregivers can obtain resource and contact information for many elder care issues.
SeniorLink is a free service offered by CPHHA to tri-county residents and provides information on topics from health care to legal advice, from financial assistance to finding affordable meal solutions.
While I am going to post this on my blog a more detailed list of services will be in my News Update to those who get my newsletters. This is important information for us all.