ILC-USA and MetLife Foundation Launch Second Year of Community College Caregiver Train...( NEW YORK April 7 2008 -- The cri...),Health

NEW YORK, April 7, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The critical lack of family and paraprofessional caregivers for older adults in the United States has motivated renewal of the Community College Caregiver Training Initiative for a second year.

With funding from MetLife Foundation, The Caregiving Project for Older Americans, a project housed within the International Longevity Center-USA (ILC-USA), has released a Request for Proposals (RFP) and will award up to twelve $25,000 grants to community colleges to establish new caregiver training programs or to build upon existing programs.

"We have a growing caregiving crisis in our country. Increasingly, there are too few caregivers, both paid and unpaid, and too many people needing care," said Dr. Kenneth Knapp, project manager for The Caregiving Project and senior research analyst at the ILC-USA. "There is an urgent need to develop accessible training programs for caregivers of older adults. Community colleges have the ability to provide affordable, quality caregiver training to both family caregivers and paid care workers."

The 2008 Community College Caregiver Training Initiative hopes to encourage the development of new and novel programs to train both family and professional in-home caregivers, promote skill development, advance the quality of care, and provide opportunities for career development.

"Community colleges can play a pivotal role in meeting the increased need for caregiver training," said Sibyl Jacobson, president and CEO, MetLife Foundation. "These grants will offer opportunities for community colleges across the country."

The RFP encourages innovation in the design, management, and implementation of caregiver training programs. Program requirements include:

-- Care of Older Adults. The training must prepare students to care for older people, either exclusively or in addition to other groups.

-- Care in the Home. The training must prepar
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