Expanding Family Care Statewide
March 9, 2006

The last thing seniors in need of long term health care want is to be moved out of their home or away from their neighborhood.

And after a lifetime of hard work, paying taxes, and raising a family, they deserve the chance to live where they want, in the home that they love, and in the community that they know.

But middle class and working families are getting squeezed by the high cost of long term care. They need a little help affording it.

That's why, in my State of the State address, I proposed expanding the Family Care program, statewide. Family Care is a terrific program that helps seniors stay in their homes and communities for as long as they can. And not only is long term home health care the kind of care seniors want, it costs less than nursing home care – for taxpayers and for working families.

Over the last several weeks we've put my plan into action, crisscrossing the state to award Family Care planning grants. It's important state funding that will enable state and local governments to partner with the private sector to grow more long term community based care programs for more seniors.

And just as we're increasing our commitment to long term home care, we're successfully decreasing our dependence on nursing homes.

Some seniors, like my mother, really need the kind of care that a nursing home provides. But for many, the best care is community based.

I've set a long term goal for the state of reducing our use of nursing homes by 25 percent over the next eight years. We've been able to move hundreds of seniors out of nursing homes and into community care – and more than 1,000 more will move over the next year and a half.

Wisconsin's greatest generation deserves every opportunity to live full and independent lives.

I'm committed to doing everything I can to make sure that happens.

Sincerely,
Governor Jim Doyle