EASTON, MARYLAND — People in Talbot County who look after an aging parent, a spouse or a relative with dementia can seek counseling and support groups, and ask about respite funds, through the Maryland Family Caregiver Support Program, which Upper Shore Aging runs in Caroline, Kent and Talbot counties.
The state says it wants to make that help easier to find. The Maryland Department of Aging announced it won a federal Administration for Community Living Caregiver Implementation Grant for a second straight cycle, bringing $490,000 in federal funds to strengthen support for family caregivers. The two-year project runs through September 2028. The department says it will produce statewide caregiver data, an expanded respite care network, a centralized information hub and a family caregiver awareness toolkit.
The program serves two groups, according to the department. The first is adult family members or other informal caregivers, 18 and older, who care for someone 60 or older, or for a person of any age with Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder. The second is relatives 55 and older who care for children under 18 or for adults 18 to 59 with disabilities. Federal law limits that group to caregivers who live with the person and are the primary caregiver. Someone raising a child must be a relative other than a parent, caring for the child because the parents cannot or will not. For an adult with a disability, federal law lets a parent qualify, though the state's website excludes parents from both groups. Talbot families can check their circumstances with Upper Shore Aging.
In Talbot, Upper Shore Aging, the state-designated Area Agency on Aging for the three counties, says its caregiver services include information, assistance, counseling, respite funds and support groups. Mary Sellers manages the program and can be reached at 410-778-7180. Older adults and people with disabilities who need caregiving services and supports can also start with Maryland Access Point or Upper Shore Aging, the department says.
About 30% of Talbot County's residents are 65 or older, the highest share of any county in Maryland, according to the county's Commission on Aging. Statewide, about 1.15 million family or informal caregivers provide more than 1 billion hours of unpaid care a year, care the department values at about $24 billion.
"When caregivers need help, they often turn first to people they already know and trust," said Molly Wisniewski, family caregiver programs manager at the Maryland Department of Aging.
The new grant will focus on listening to caregivers, making resources easier to find and building awareness with employers, faith groups, health care providers and community organizations, the department said. November is National Family Caregivers Month, which the federal Administration for Community Living is recognizing.
Source: Maryland Department of Aging
Drawn from public records; drafted with AI and edited by Peter Gorman before publication.
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