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Committee approves pilot grant program for family caregivers of people with dementia
Summary
The House Health Committee advanced House Bill 1443 to create a pilot grant program providing $6,000 grants (total program funding $600,000) to family caregivers of eligible relatives with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia; the bill passed unanimously in committee.
The Tennessee House Health Committee voted to approve House Bill 1443, titled the Caregiving for Caregivers Act, which would establish a pilot grant program to provide direct grants to family caregivers of eligible relatives with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia.
Representative Jones, the sponsor, told the committee the program would offer grants of $6,000 to individual caregivers and that total program funding would be $600,000. He cited state demographics and caregiving statistics, saying there are "129,200 people, age 65 and above, who are living with Alzheimer's or related dementia" in Tennessee and that approximately "386,000 family members and friends serve as unpaid caregivers" providing more than "675,000,000 hours of unpaid care a year." Representative Jones said the grants would help cover expenses linked to caregiving and noted research that caregivers lose about $36,000 in annual income.
The committee considered and adopted a drafting-code amendment (012946). After brief discussion of the fiscal note and supportive remarks from members, the clerk recorded 20 ayes and 0 nays and the bill passed out of committee to Government Operations as amended.
The legislation as presented establishes a pilot grant structure; the hearing did not specify grant applicant eligibility rules beyond "family caregivers of eligible family members with Alzheimer's disease or related dementia," nor did it specify an implementing agency in committee discussion.
