Download Your Free CARE Act Wallet Card

The CARE Act helps family caregivers by providing contact details for a loved one in case of emergency. View more info by choosing your state in the list provided. If your state is not listed, the CARE Act has not been implemented but you can sign up for more info and help get support to your state. Link below.

https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/local/info-2017/care-act-aarp-wallet-card.html

Post by Marilyn Gunter

Arkansas 2-1-1 had the privilege of hosting and AmeriCorps Program from September 2017 through August 2018.  They were tasked with helping expand the 2-1-1 database from four counties to 75.  It was an exciting time of learning and growing as a total of 13 AmeriCorps Members were located at six United Way offices across the state.  As a result of their participation, we were able to increase our resource by 162% and make lasting connections with agencies across the state.  I was particularly impressed when the Members recited the AmeriCorps Pledge during the orientation because it dovetails so perfectly with our role as Information and Referral Specialists:

I will get things done for America
to make our people safer, smarter and healthier.

I will bring Americans together
to strengthen our communities.

Faced with apathy, I will take action.

Faced with conflict, I will seek common ground.

Faced with adversity, I will persevere.

I will carry this commitment with me
this year and beyond.

I am an AmeriCorps member and I will
get things done.

If you have the opportunity to work with AmeriCorps, VISTA, SeniorCorps, FemaCorps, or any of the other wonderful National Service entities, you will also have your faith in the human spirit bolstered as your program reaps the benefits of willing hearts.

Post by Carlos Garbutt

MAK-AIRS has another exciting webinar coming up on October 16^th. Mark your calendars! There is no need to register. Simply click the link below to join us on the 16^th. Please help us spread the word. This webinar is open to all who would benefit.

Unconditional Positive Regard Begins With You! - Self Care

After 30-some years in the field of crisis intervention and I&R being both supervised and supervising the presenter realized he was probably the reason for self care existed.  It was this introspection that lead to this workshop.  While those of us in the I&R field may not know it, the listening skills and the concepts of being nonjudgmental, respectful and empowering central to the I&R Process have their foundation in the Person Centered Therapy of Carl Rogers and his premise of Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR).  While we are adept at providing UPR to our clients we seldom think of ourselves as deserving UPR.  This workshop looks at how we deserve UPR and how we can begin to "work" on ourselves as much as we work at helping others.  For those of you who have been through countless self care workshops not to worry - there will be no visualizations, deep breathing, meditation or yoga involved.

John Plonski has 30+ years of experience in the fields of Crisis/Suicide Intervention and Information and Referral.  He has presented at the local, state, national and international levels and is currently the Director of IMAlive.org - a virtual crisis service with volunteers in 6 of the 7 continents.  He is the developer of the Helping Empathically As Responders Training (HEART) which is the online training for IMAlive's volunteers.  John has created comprehensive training curricula, seminars and workshops for developing and established organizations that address agency and staff development as well as emerging needs with the goal of helping caregivers to effectively empower those who reach out in need as well as themselves.

MAK-AIRS Webinar: Self-Care 
Tue, Oct 16, 2018 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM CDT

Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. 
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/274160997 

You can also dial in using your phone. 
United States: +1 (872) 240-3311 

Access Code: 274-160-997 

Joining from a video-conferencing room or system? 
Dial: 67.217.95.2##274160997
Cisco devices: 274160997@67.217.95.2

First GoToMeeting? Let's do a quick system check:
https://link.gotomeeting.com/system-check 

New Kid on the Phone

by: Jamie Saunders

Does anyone remember their first?  The first time you road a bike. The first time you drove a car.  Your first high school dance or your first kiss.  Maybe you are a first time home owner, held your first grandchild or the first time you saw your son or daughter walk down the aisle.  Well this is my first time writing a blog & I’m going to share some highlights of my “firsts” as it relates to being an Information & Assistance Specialist.

So let’s get straight to the point, life is full of new experiences. Everyone handles their first day on the job differently. Maybe you started your job fresh out of college or straight off the unemployment line. We all have had to experience the first day on the job jitters. Once you’ve gone through orientation, smiled at everyone you were introduced to, and preformed the professional firm hand shake a gazillion times….then it’s game time! 

As I patiently waited to receive my first call as an Information & Assistance Specialist, my throat got dry!  I cannot speak for anyone else, but this was the most nerve wracking experience of my life! Coming from a background of direct social service, I am used to meeting clients face-to-face.  Learning to establish rapport and connect with a person over the phone without being able to look the person in the eye was a huge transition.  The thought of giving referrals over the phone without following up with a home visit was unheard of!  I was nervous and you could hear it in my voice.  After a few awkward calls, I realized that although I knew the resources, I didn’t know how to connect with these callers.  Having my Master’s in Social Work didn’t mean I was an expert on the phones!  I was a “greenhorn” in this field but I was a fast learner.

I started by talking to some of my co-workers.  We have Information & Assistance Specialists that have worked at our agency for decades.  They were happy to point me in the right direction & share their experiences (good and bad).  They would commiserate with me when I had difficult callers and cheer me on when we would follow-up and hear success stories!  I soon developed my own “Janet Jackson voice” to calm down angry callers.  But I still didn’t feel confidant. 

Then something miraculous happened!  My supervisor handed me this very thick, considerably heavy and intimidating training manual. On the cover  in bold print were these words, THE ABC’s of I & R. When she handed me the manual it felt like the scene from the 1980’s film, The Blues Brother’s. You know the church scene where James Brown is acting as a preacher; he asked Jake and Elwood, “Do you see the light?”  Jake replied, “I have seen the light.” The 11 characteristics of an I & R Specialist perfectly aligned with my core social work values and ethics!

My supervisor informed me the exam will be administered at the AIRS conference in Dallas, TX. Needless to say I was freaking out at the thought of going to an AIRS conference after less than a year on the job! I was still kind of wet behind the ears, even though I had over a thousand calls under my belt!  But off to the airport I went, with my AIRS manual in my carry-on bag. Studying each module helped me to overcome my feelings of inadequacy. Fear of failure is not uncommon when you’re about to take an exam. I studied each chapter, read that manual cover to cover three times. All my studying paid off because I passed the exam with flying colors!

Most important of all, I had a clearer understanding of my role as an Information & Referral Specialist and the AIRS Standards I am to uphold as a Certified Information & Referral Specialist for Aging/Disability (CIRS-A/D).

At the conference, every workshop I attended gave me more courage. The AIRS Networker is overflowing with best practice which was proof I wasn’t alone. For every question there were thousands of answers from all 50 states and Canada. If I needed help with a situation, I was pleased to learn that there are AIRS Affiliate members in my area.

I am often asked, “Where are you working now?” I proudly say I am an Information & Assistance Specialist for the St. Louis Area Agency on Aging. Once the dazed and confused look passes they ask, “Well what do you do?”  I offer resources to older adult and disabled persons with disabilities. Our agency specializes in serving this population, by providing referrals that can help them live comfortably in their homes.

Bottom line, I now have the tools I need to continue learning how to be the best Information & Assistance Specialist I can be.  As long as I have the AIRS I & R Training Manual on my desk and the AIRS networker starred on my computer under my favorites, I will be able to handle just about any situation that arises with callers and staff.

In October of this year I will celebrate my 4^th year as an Information and Assistance Specialist. I am proud to be a newly elected member of the AIRS board. It’s been a pleasure serving on the MAK-AIRS board as well. I’m no longer the new kid, those first few months on the job are a distant memory. AIRS has provided ongoing trainings and webinars. Now I am capable of training others seeking certification.

Reflecting back on the Blues Brothers film, I am no longer standing in the back of the church uncertain of what to do. In my Joliet Jake voice, “I have seen the light!”

Chronic Absences

The Problem

Across the country, more than 8 million students are missing so many days of school that they are academically at risk. Chronic absence — missing 10 percent or more of school days due to absence for any reason—excused, unexcused absences and suspensions, can translate into third-graders unable to master reading, sixth-graders failing subjects and ninth-graders dropping out of high school.

Children living in poverty are two to three times more likely to be chronically absent—and face the most harm because their community lacks the resources to make up for the lost learning in school. Students from communities of color as well as those with disabilities are disproportionately affected.

This isn’t simply a matter of truancy or skipping school. In fact, many of these absences, especially among our youngest students, are excused. Often absences are tied to health problems, such as asthma, diabetes, and oral and mental health issues. Other barriers including lack of a nearby school bus, a safe route to school or food insecurity make it difficult to go to school every day.  In many cases, chronic absence goes unnoticed because schools are counting how many students show up every day rather than examining how many and which students miss so much school that they are falling behind.

While chronic absence presents academic challenges for students not in class, when it reaches high levels in a classroom or school, all students may suffer because the resulting classroom churn hampers teachers’ ability to engage all students and meet their learning needs.

The good news is that our work throughout the country shows us that chronic absence is a solvable problem. What works is taking a data-driven, comprehensive approach that begins with engaging students and families as well as preventing absences from adding up before they fall behind academically. The key is using chronic absence data as a diagnostic tool to identify where prevention and early intervention are needed.

With this data in hand, schools, families and community partners can together determine the causes of chronic absence, and implement approaches that address barriers to getting to class. The federal Every Student Succeeds Act requires districts and states to collect chronic absence data and report it publicly.  The majority of states have adopted chronic absence as a measure for school accountability.

The challenge of improving attendance is to avoid making the incorrect assumption that chronically absent students or their parents simply do not care. By working together, all of us — schools, public officials, public agencies, civic organizations, businesses, philanthropic groups, families and students —  can ensure all children can get to school every day so they have an opportunity to learn, flourish and realize their dreams.

Shared from (and to learn more) - http://www.attendanceworks.org/chronic-absence/the-problem/

Resources for parents or guardians: http://www.attendanceworks.org/resources/toolkits/bringing-attendance-home/

On Becoming 90

I often still feel like a spring chicken, but I’m coming to realize I’m really just an old hen. So this column is to prepare all of my readers who, if they are lucky enough, also reach 90.

What is reassuring is that it is too late for me to die young. I sometimes wonder which of my organs will fail first. I’m on the alert; so far there are no signs.

These are some of the things that are beginning to happen to me with more frequency: immediately forgetting the name of the person I just met, constantly misplacing my iPhone (having to call from my landline to find it), not remembering the name of the movie I saw last night (but then neither does the friend I was with), needing to look at my calendar several times a day and still mixing up dates and times, losing track of conversations (because of diminished hearing) and therefore simply nodding and smiling when others do so, walking with my eyes focused on the ground rather than the scenery around because I’m afraid of tripping.

Two things seem to happen as people age; the first is that paranoia sets in: Whenever I lose an object in my apartment, I have a knee-jerk reaction that someone took it; I always find it later in an odd place. The other is losing one’s filters: I say things I had not meant to say; they come out of my mouth before I can stop myself.

What do I do differently now than when I was much younger — like when I was eighty? When I drive, I plot my turns more carefully than I used to. I take Uber to far away or unknown destinations instead of driving. I look at the back of my hair in the mirror to cover any pink skin that might be showing. I stand on one leg when I brush my teeth to practice good balance. I don’t order dessert, but take a spoonful from my dining partner’s — remembering from Weight Watchers that the second bite tastes the same as the first. I have refused to attend some boring events; I meditate more conscientiously; I write everything down that I need to remember and put it in a visible place for continued reference throughout the day. I use the speakerphone even when I’m alone on a call. It has taken me ninety years to finally feel I don’t have to finish everything on my plate. But I admit I still have trouble with the old admonition to not throw out or give away anything that is still serviceable, hence, the superfluous clothes in my closets.

The good news is that far from slowing down in old age, the brain can actually keep growing new dendrites, which are the connections between neurons. Old brains are as plastic as young brains; in fact, the connections between the two hemispheres of our brains become better integrated with age. Our reasoning powers and emotional stability increase, as well as tolerance for contradictions. Older people have fewer negative emotions such as sadness, anger, guilt, and are thus happier than they were in their youths. And the best part: I don’t ever have to have a colonoscopy anymore, nor a mammogram, nor ever go to a gynecologist again. I will outlive any possible cancer.

Indeed, I feel less hassled by small things. I am more tolerant and more compassionate. I try to be less judgmental then I was in my youth. I am also wiser; I figure out problems and find solutions faster. It is rewarding to still be able to be helpful and available to others.

My bucket list is empty. I have been everywhere I wanted to go (having worked as a lecturer on many world cruises). I am happy to stay put in my retirement community surrounded by caring friends.

I remember many joyful times in my life: the college years, having children at home, having no children at home, traveling with my husband, being in the trenches as an early feminist, teaching, and finally being here today. Even though I lost a husband, a brother, and a son, I am grateful for the palm tree and the ocean outside my window and even more so for my daughter, my four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren who will come visit to celebrate my 90th birthday.

So now you all know what to expect when you arrive to your tenth decade but that may not be the end other story, as there are more centenarians now than ever before. Ten years from now expect a column on turning one hundred.

~ Dr. Natasha Josefowitz, Author and internationally known business consultant and keynote speaker

Across the country, older Americans – a rapidly-growing population – are taking part in activities that promote wellness and social connection. They are sharing their wisdom and experience with future generations, and they are giving back to help enrich their communities. They’re working and volunteering, mentoring and learning, leading and engaging.

For 55 years, Older Americans Month (OAM) has been observed to recognize older Americans and their contributions to our communities. Led by the Administration for Community Living’s Administration on Aging, every May offers opportunity to hear from, support and celebrate our nation’s elders.  This year’s OAM theme “Engage at Every Age” emphasizes the importance

of being active and involved, no matter when or where you are in life.  You are never too old

(or too young) to participate in activities that can enrich your physical, mental and emotion well- being.

It is becoming more apparent that remaining socially engaged can improve the quality of life for older adults.  Organizations will use OAM 2018 to focus on how older adults in their area are engaging with friends and family, and through various community activities. Throughout the month, organizations will conduct activities and share information designed to highlight local programs and activities focusing on social engagement. We encourage you to get involved in your community by hosting events for Older Americans Month.

Join ACL and AoA in celebrating by participating the Selfie Challenge! They want to see how you’re engaging. Simply take a selfie (or have someone take your photo) and tweet it with the hashtag  #OAM18.

Shared from https://oam.acl.gov/index.html

April 16^th is National Healthcare Directive day.  Aging with Dignity offers Five Wishes booklet to help people to determine the type of care they want to receive when unable to speak for themselves.  You can identify a healthcare agent to act on your behalf and to carry our your wishes.   Those individuals located in Missouri must have the booklet notarized.  Share this with family or medical team. Five Wishes can be obtained at www.agingwithdignity.com. 

The MAK-AIRS board will have their face-to-face board meeting on Feb. 22nd to make plans for the coming year. If you have ideas or suggestions for upcoming training opportunities or networking events please reach out to Heather Pierce at hpierce@unitedwayplains.org or 316-267-1321.

How are Social Security benefits and the Part B premium changing? The base premium for Medicare Part B (medical insurance) is $134 in 2018. This is the same as the base premium from 2017. People who paid the base premium of $134 in 2017 will pay the same amount, while most people who paid less will begin paying $134 per month. About a quarter of people will not pay the full $134 Part B premium because their Social Security benefits did not increase enough in 2018 to cover the increase in the Part B premium. There is a rule that your Social Security benefits cannot decrease because of an increase in the Part B premium. This is known as the hold harmless provision. Most people have the Part B premium deducted from their Social Security benefits. Each year, the increase to the Part B premium cannot be greater than the cost of living adjustment (COLA); otherwise, a person’s Social Security award amount would go down once the Part B premium is deducted. People in this situation pay a lower premium than the standard premium so that their Social Security benefits do not decrease. They pay a premium increase that is the same dollar amount as their cost of living adjustment. This year, the cost of living adjustment is 2%, which is higher than in past years. If you did not pay $134 for Part B in 2017, part or all of your cost of living adjustment will go toward paying the increase to your Part B premium. This means that you may not see an increase to your social Security benefits once the Part B premium is deducted. You should look at your Social Security Statement for personalized information about your benefit and premium amount. Here are examples of how the 2% COLA can affect the Part B premium: Tom’s social security income in 2017 was $1,500 and his Part B premium was $109. In 2018, Tom’s COLA will be 2% of $1,500, or $30. The increase in his Part B premium, from $109 to $134, is $25. Tom will not be affected by the hold harmless provision this year, so he will pay $134 for the Part B premium, and will see a net increase of $5 in his monthly Social Security earnings. Magda’s social security income was $950 in 2017 and her Part B premium was $104. This year, the COLA will increase her Social Security award by $19. Magda’s premium will be raised by the dollar amount of her COLA, making it $123 in 2018. There will be no increase to Magda’s Social Security award once the Part B premium has been deducted. Keep in mind, $134 is the standard premium for people with a yearly income below $85,000 for an individual ($170,000 for a married couple). If your income is higher than that, you may have to pay an income-related monthly adjustment amount, also known as IRMAA. If you would like to learn more about the IRMAA, including how to appeal your IRMAA if you believe it is incorrect, you can contact your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). Visit www.shiptacenter.org or call 877-839-2675 to contact your SHIP. If you have limited income and assets, you might also be eligible for the Medicare Savings Program, which pays the Part B premium and, in some cases, the Part A premium if you have one, as well as Part A and B deductibles, copays, and coinsurances. Contact your local SHIP to learn more about Medicare Savings Program eligibility and to apply. To find out what you can expect to pay for this year’s Medicare premiums, deductibles, and coinsurance for Medicare Parts A, B, and D as well as Medicare Advantage plans, download 2018 Medicare Costs, a free Medicare Interactive resource from the Medicare Rights Center.