We approached the home in the afternoon, just before everyone returned from school. The mother was late to meet us. She was busy. There was toys and adaptive equipment throughout the first floor of her home. She sat down with a sigh; she looked exhausted. I looked at her and smiled. I introduced myself as the Director of the Adult Family Care (AFC) program and asked how we could help her.

She looked around her kitchen, and then wearily turned to us and responded, “Anything you could do to lend a hand around here would be appreciated.” I then explained to her what the AFC program was.

Defining Adult Family Care

The Adult Family Care program provides financial and clinical assistance to qualifying family members and their caregivers.

Minuteman Arc Adult Foster Care Team
The AFC team from Minuteman Arc includes from left, Lori Davis, RN; Mieke Monen, Director of Residential Services; Kathy Kopitsky, AFC Director; and Ashley Poor, Care Manager

We work to assist in caring for loved ones at home. We support all people who, because of medical, physical, cognitive or psychiatric problem, cannot safely live alone.

To be eligible a member must be on MassHealth and need help with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) on a daily basis. That is, they must need help with mobility in or outside of the home, bathing, dressing, toileting, eating or transferring. A registered nurse and care manager conduct the assessment to determine eligibility. The assessment is an extended and detailed conversation about the sort of help your loved one needs.

The AFC program provides assistance through monthly visits by the nurse or care manager or both, networking opportunities, training and financial support. The financial support would be useful to help with acquiring respite services and other pay-as-you-go services. We can also help caregivers locate community resources.

The role of the family

As the qualified caregiver you have responsibilities too. To qualify as a caregiver, there is an application process and a home inspection that needs to be done. We will also complete a criminal history (CORI) check. These items will be taken care of before we do the assessment for eligibility discussed earlier.

The van pulled up and Ron emerged. He ran into the house, looked at us briefly and then ran upstairs. Mom smiled sheepishly. I raised my hand and said, “No need to apologize. We understand. Now, shall we get started on the paperwork?”