SBIR-STTR Award

A Phase I SBIR project to investigate the feasibility of developing an intergenerational community care facility (residential elderly, day care children) as an employment and income-generating opportunity for rural areas: to foster, promote and improve the wellbeing of rural Americans; to promote and foster improvements in services to rural people. The proposed feasibility study includes the following areas of research: 1) the compilation of existing research on the effectiveness of intergenerational community care facility; 2) the economic feasibility of establishing an intergenerational community care facility including estimates of incremental costs and potential economies of scale; developing a source book to distribute nationally to those interested in the model; 3) to research and develop standards of management procedures and cost controls appropriate for efficient operation of an intergenerational community care facility; 4) to develop and administer an evaluation instrument to assess the attitudes of children and elders cared for in an intergenerational community care facility; 5) to establish an intergenerational community care facility based on the model program implemented for this project.Applications:This project introduces a new concept in children's and elderly care in the United States, significantly benefitting: rural homeowners through expanded income potential: elderly, children, parents of children, and children of the elderly through intergenerational community care in a non-institutional facility with 6-8 people (residential elderly) with 6-8 children (day care). This is a new economic direction for rural homeowners who are having monumental struggles to retain and stay in their large homes. Developing an intergenerational community care facility would be a real and significant Shot in the arms as well as improving the lives of rural Americans ~ the elderly, the children of the elderly, young children and the parents of the young children.

This Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is designed to test the hypothesis that intergenerational caregiving can provide income for rural homeowners in the United States. The proposed study, founded on solid Phase I economic feasibility data, includes five major areas of research: I) to test the economic feasibility of intergenerational caregiving as a revenue-generating source, 2) to develop a partnership with the University of Massachusetts to provide space and facilities for an Intergenerational Center, 3) to develop a partnership between industry and intergenerational caregivers, 4) to refine the assessment tool to assess attitudes of children towards elders in an intergenerational community care facility, and 5) to assess the market for materials produced in Phase I for dissemination to the rural intergenerational caregiver.Applications:Assuming that Phase II research is as effective as has been projected from Phase I feasibility findings, a strong foundation for intergenerational community care in a noninstitutional facility will be in place significantly benefiting: rural homeowners, through expanded income potential; the elders and children, through interaction in an intergenerational community care facility; industry, by increasing productivity because of lower absenteeism and/or lowering stress levels; and rural workers, by providing quality day care for relief from the strain of caring for children and elderly parents.