Table 3.
Outcomes by policies examined in the gray literature
| Outcomes | Success for caregivers (Yes/No) |
|---|---|
| Family Medical Leave Policies [32] | |
| General | |
| 1 in 3 workers is unaware of FMLA benefits (AARP, 2013) | No |
| 37% of employers report positive effect and 54% report no noticeable effect on absenteeism, turnover, and morale (AARP, 2013) | Yes |
| 54% of workers do not receive any pay while on leave (AARP, 2013) | No |
| 88% of workers age 50 + found FMLA protections important to them (AARP, 2013) | Yes |
| 12% of workers have access to paid family leave (AARP, 2013) | No |
| Paid leave benefits to employer and employee with consistent workforce participation and improved quality of life (AARP, 2013) | Yes |
| 12% of workers have access to paid family leave (AARP, 2013) | No |
| Paid leave benefits to employer and employee with consistent workforce participation and improved quality of life (AARP, 2013) | Yes |
| 99% of employers reported a positive or no noticeable effect on turnover, productivity or performance (AARP, 2013) | Yes |
| Employees reported increased ability to care for family member and increased likelihood of returning to work following leave (AARP, 2013) | Yes |
| Low public knowledge of paid leave benefit (AARP, 2013) | No |
| Equity-related | |
| 80% of low wage workers do not have access to paid sick days (AARP, 2013) | No |
| Older Americans Act [33] | |
| General | |
| National Family Caregiver Support Program is effective in reducing caregiver burden (AARP, 2019) | Yes |
| Caregivers who receive 4 or more hours of respite care a week reported decline in burden (AARP, 2019) | Yes |
| Caregivers who receive at least one education, counseling, or support group session reported improved confidence (AARP, 2019) | Yes |
| Caregivers provided $470 billion in unpaid care in 2013, but only $181 million of the Older Americans Act is allocated to caregiver support services (AARP, 2019) | No |
| Equity-related | |
| Older Americans Act funding is approximately $2 billion (comparatively, Medicaid waiver funding is $167 billion), findings suggest middle class caregivers ineligible for many supports (AARP, 2019) | No |
| Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, & Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act [34] | |
| General | |
| Access and presences of Direct Support Professionals (e.g., CNA’s, home health aids) have not been sufficient in supporting the needs of family caregivers (ACL, 2021) | No |
| Lack of representation of caregiver perspectives in policy and healthcare systems (ACL, 2021) | No |
| Development and implementation of evidence-based caregiver assessment tools (e.g., BRI Care Consultation and Tailored Caregiver Assessment and Referral) (ACL, 2021) | Yes |
| Considerable variability in how “caregiver” and “support” is defined across government agencies that may support caregivers (ACL, 2021) | No |
| Lack of caregivers in research efforts or data collection (ACL, 2021) | No |
| National Family Caregiver Support Program/Medicaid Home and Community Based Services waivers/ State funded actions [29] | |
| General | |
| 36% of states began providing support to caregivers of older people for the first time (Family Caregiver Alliance, 2004) | No |
| Area Agencies on Aging are the most common agency to organize caregiver support programming (Family Caregiver Alliance, 2004) | Yes |
| High variability in how states track program expenditures and service delivery (Family Caregiver Alliance, 2004) | No |
| Multiple funding sources reported across states with main sources including: State general funds, NFSCP, Medicaid HCBS waivers, and client contributions (Family Caregiver Alliance, 2004) | No |
| Less than half of the programs included uniformly assess caregiver needs (Family Caregiver Alliance, 2004) | No |
| Respite is most common service offered and is available across all states though with great variability (Family Caregiver Alliance, 2004) | Yes |
| Access to program information or services vary by program type (Family Caregiver Alliance, 2004) | No |
| Caregiving is assessed in only 5 states’ uniform assessment tool of HCBS programs (Family Caregiver Alliance, 2004) | No |
| States identify inadequate funding as main barrier to implanting caregiver programs (Family Caregiver Alliance, 2004) | No |