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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The population of the State of Illinois that is 85 | ||||||
3 | years of age or older is projected to rise from 260,000 in 2012 | ||||||
4 | to 392,000 in 2032; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Nationally, 70% of people with Alzheimer's | ||||||
6 | disease or a related disorder live at home and need assistance | ||||||
7 | with activities of daily living; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Almost 3/4 of older people living in Illinois who | ||||||
9 | received personal assistance relied exclusively on unpaid | ||||||
10 | caregivers for help; and
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11 | WHEREAS, Almost all older adults who need assistance with | ||||||
12 | activities of daily living want to remain in their homes and | ||||||
13 | communities; and
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14 | WHEREAS, Providing services and supports to older adults in | ||||||
15 | their homes and communities is generally much less expensive | ||||||
16 | than nursing home care; and | ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, Older adults who receive cost-effective services | ||||||
18 | in their homes are much less likely to need public assistance; | ||||||
19 | and |
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1 | WHEREAS, An estimated 2,430,000 adults in the State provide | ||||||
2 | care to adult relatives or friends, which equates to an | ||||||
3 | estimated 1.59 billion hours a year and an estimated value of | ||||||
4 | $18.8 billion each year; and | ||||||
5 | WHEREAS, To successfully address the surging population of | ||||||
6 | older adults who have significant needs for long-term services | ||||||
7 | and supports, the State must develop methods to both encourage | ||||||
8 | and support families to support their aging relatives and | ||||||
9 | develop ways to recruit and retain a qualified, responsive | ||||||
10 | in-home care workforce; therefore, be it
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11 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
12 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
13 | we support the dedicated work of family caregivers throughout | ||||||
14 | the State and will continue to seek additional ways to support | ||||||
15 | these individuals through information, education, training, | ||||||
16 | and relief care; and be it further
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17 | RESOLVED, That we recognize caregiving for older adults as | ||||||
18 | a vital and needed profession today and in the future; and be | ||||||
19 | it further | ||||||
20 | RESOLVED, That we urge the Department on Aging to create a | ||||||
21 | special workgroup that focuses on
recruiting, retaining, and | ||||||
22 | supporting family and paid caregivers and strongly encourage |
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1 | the Department to create additional innovative and creative | ||||||
2 | means to support family caregivers to continue to provide | ||||||
3 | needed in-home support for older adults; and be it further | ||||||
4 | RESOLVED, That the members of this body pledge to review | ||||||
5 | State policies and support current State programs that address | ||||||
6 | the needs of older adults and their caregivers; and be it | ||||||
7 | further | ||||||
8 | RESOLVED, That we urge the Department on Aging to continue | ||||||
9 | providing additional information and education on supporting | ||||||
10 | older adults in their homes through both family caregivers and | ||||||
11 | paid professional caregivers; and be it further
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12 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
13 | delivered to the Department on Aging.
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