SBIR-STTR Award

This Phase I SBIR proposal will investigate the feasibility of adult foster care as a revenue-generating opportunity for rural communities. The proposed objectives include: 1) determining individual state regulations in the Northeast regarding caregiver training, building and environmental requirements, number of carereceivers per household, and sources and amounts of payment to caregivers; 2) assessing cost of adult foster care for rural Northeastern caregivers in order to determine economic feasibility; 3) assessing Northeastern rural caregivel ;' satisfaction with existing training methods and materials; 4) developing and pilot-testing a model training manual to target communities; 5) producing an information pamphlet on adult foster care and its income-generating potential, and distributing it to rural Northeastern communities via the Cooperative Extension System; 6) identifying the elderly in need of care in selected rural areas and the surrounding urban areas, and linking these persons with caregivers in rural areas.

Anticipated Results:
This project offers a new direction for eldercare. Previously, elders who were unable to live alone were forced into nursing home situations, often at great cost to themselves (financially, physically, and emotionally), their families and the public. Adult foster care offers an inexpensive alternative that has been proven to be better for elders. This project will aid in the standardization and increased utilization of adult foster care which, in turn, will offer a greater number of rural caregivers a home-based revenue-generating opportunity.

A Phase II SBIR project designed to test the hypothesis that Adult Foster Care (AFC) is a revenue generating opportunity for rural communities throughout the United States. The proposed study, founded on a solid Phase I feasibility study, includes nine major areas of research. 1. To determine individual state regulations nationwide for AFC. 2. To produce an information packet on AFC regulations by state for nationwide distribution. 3. To perform a second pilot test on the AFC training manual. 4. To produce and distribute the AFC training manual for professional review. 5. To conduct training sessions for AFC professionals. 6. To develop a model AFC program for national distribution. 7. To continue to promote AFC in states where it does not exist. 8. To provide AFC information collected and developed to national databases. 9. To conduct a Northeast conference on AFC to begin to organize and train AFC professionals.

Anticipated Results:
If this Phase II research is as successful as has been projected from the Phase I feasibility findings, a strong foundation for Adult Foster Care in a non-institutional environment will be established. AFC will significantly benefit rural communities by providing non-farm income to individuals in these communities, and by providing quality care to rural Americans at a savings to Federal and State govermnents. The AFC training manual researched and tested in this project is unique and will be welcomed as a needed resource for Adult Foster Care professionals nationwide.