Foster Family Caregivers

Veterans In Need Of Caregivers Get Foster Families

A growing program to care for severely disabled veterans as foster families is now operating in 44 states across the country since 2008.

This was a new one for me, and I wanted to give a shout out to those willing to stand in the gap for veterans who otherwise would require nursing home care.

The Medical Foster Home Care is run by the Veterans Health Administration arm of VA. Its purpose is to provide an alternative to nursing home care for veterans unable to live independently. As part of the program, the veteran receives at-home visits from doctors and other care providers.

Foster Family Statistics

Currently, there are 700 foster-care providers caring for around 1,000 veterans with chronic disabilities. These families receive a stipend of $2,400 each month per veteran, which is usually less than what long-term-care would cost on the market.

The fee is paid for by the veterans through their benefits and Social Security. Some veterans also use their personal funds.

One Example

Here is an excerpt from The Ledger about one such foster family:

Korean War veteran Stewart Breeding figured he’d spend the rest of his life alone when his wife, Jettie, died in 2016. He moved into a nursing home and was lonely.

Fast-forward to last month — his 86th birthday — when Breeding walked into Donna and Bennie Nolan’s dining room in Ashland, Kentucky, to find balloons, a red-white-and-blue chocolate cake and a roomful of people wishing him a happy birthday.

[…]

To Breeding, everyone who gathered around the table to celebrate that afternoon is now family.

“I want to live here with Donna and Bennie until the day I die,” Breeding said. “I love everything about this family. It’s a great place to be.”

3 Veteran Maximum

The families are allowed to take up to three veterans so long as the meet foster guidelines and have enough space to house each veteran. Dayna Cooper, director of the agency’s program, says agreements to place each veteran are long-term commitments usually for the remainder of the veteran’s life.

“Veterans who enter the (fostering) program typically do so because they lack a strong family caregiver,” Cooper said. “So we’re looking for individuals or families willing to take over that role and provide the care and assistance needed for them to remain in a community setting.”

Foster Family Criteria

Anyone reading this who may be interested in the program would need to pass a background check. Foster family candidates must take 80 hours of training prior to accepting veterans as well as 20 hours of training each year. And, importantly, foster home providers cannot work outside the home.

If you are reading this and part of the program as either a foster family or a veteran receiving benefits through the program, please provide a comment below about your experience.

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16 Comments

  1. 05/19/2019

    Dear Benjamin Krause,

    At least someone in Washington was thinking back in 2008 while the country plunged into the Great Recession to help the Veterans [44 states]. What are the other eight (8) states doing and our other “non state” properties going to do?

    And are there any other possibilities to further this help?

    Sincerely,

    Don Karg
    P.S. been busy trying to collect a paycheck after working in March and April–had to go to Governor Ducey
    Senator McSally [Veteran Suicides and the VA Secretary’s 5 Questions] and Senator Sinema [Wait Times] received their letters on 05/09/2019 with 57 books.

  2. A Peasant A Mere Peasant. That is how they view and care for my vet who gave 23 year 7 month 16 days in 2 branches of service, beginning with taking dead babies to the morgue after OKC Bombing and ending in Afghanistan. These stories across the US within the DVA about deaths, mistreatment,
    misdiagnosis, theft, and coverups are meangingless. None are really outraged except those of us who are stuck in the clusterfukopia of a mess we call the DVA. Silence from my Reps in OK. Inhofe, Mullins and Hardin. Maybe my vets years long tricare appeal will come through before he dies from complications from the serious brain injury they inflicted on him 3 years after entering DVA care. Ya sure, right. Theres no recourse , no ethics, no accountability and no pay if you sue. Its bend over and take it like a soldier. And they do. Carry on.

  3. Of course a short article and not much information given about Indianapolis’ VA hospital and corruption. The joke of veteran and family relief and help funds. Local news refuses to put up public links or much more info about the issue. Again and again… there will not be much of an investigation or heads rolling over the generations and years of corruption, fraud, lack of ethics, their retaliation against some vets, etc. Corrupt top to bottom, full circle. And to think we can put trust in such funds, aid, the VA, state social workers or strange ‘foster families’ or care givers?

    Oh my but how they constantly spout about how much they all support and love their veterans in Indiana. Barf.

    Very rare news allowed for ‘public consumption.’ Not to worry, the criminals and scum will not be harmed by this news or employment hampered much. They fall on swords to protect their “team” and their own.

    “V.A. employees resign as investigation begins”
    “https://www.wowo.com/v-a-employees-resign-as-investigation-begins/”

    “The newspaper says the resigning employees either approved or received grants or welfare benefits administered by the agency.”


    “https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2018/11/29/indiana-department-veterans-affairs-assistance-fund-favored-employees/1986693002/”

    Criminal probe opened into veterans’ agency mismanagement
    “https://www.apnews.com/7e21744aa6c44bba8f90bbccf74c5874”

    Never ‘not sufficient evidence’ to prosecute. Or as usual the Indiana regimes and tyrants/mafias/predators reign supreme and above the laws, safe.

  4. Va paid 8.2 mill settle sexual harrasment people caught smucking on tax payer dime whistle blower fired

    1. I swear I’ve seen that word “smucking preparation” in VA vending machines, I guess I know know it’s not a strudel pastry, but a tube of KY and and an old rag.

  5. Here a couple good ones
    Va asked congress exclude veteran sex offenders
    There supervisor a sex offender
    Reading how army ranger died to secret mental health wait list

    Va dr cut paste same finding into 1200 veteran files

  6. This is all well and good but I fear elder abuse or usurping benefits from a cash cow not quite dead yet when human greed and VA nepotism is mixed; I unfortunately predict Benjamin will have a follow up article within no more that 2 yrs where VA staph are having their own family members or friends of family suck that cookie jar dead Fred.

  7. Program has been around for a long time and it sucks, not all that bad because good people.

    Family joins the program and gets paid a certain amount of money and you can bet money is everything. If the cost of living in a nursing home or assisted living, then look to find a place. The veteran is fan better in a nursing home. People use for extra cash but when get into it and what’s involved, most run.

  8. I can’t help but see another BIG potential for scam artists who will be involved in this and veterans getting shafted on care. NO THANKS! I don’t want anything to do with it! You know, getting shafted has a lot to do with being a veteran which makes me wish I weren’t a veteran and made the right decision not to become one. But I went ahead and enlisted anyway but I didn’t start regretting that decision until I stepped off that freedom bird after leaving Cam Rhan Bay.

    1. RAZZMTAZZ,
      Just like with the people who take care of a veterans money. (Brain fart on what they’re called!) Lots of scamming going on there!

      1. Representative payees? True, too much, way too much scamming and misuse of funds. Seen it too many times doing various things when dealing with our sick society. Problem again is censoring and having no real media to report some reality in our communities not wanting anything negative to be known or spoken. In states like mine it’s doesn’t do any good to get involved with other’s issues (very much), to report Medicare or health care scamming/fraud/abuse and such either. Too much of it going on and too much allowed to happen, too much money to be had from it all. Also too many high rollers and country clubbers (“professionals”) toes to step on and that is not allowed either. White collar crimes must be okay like scamming or scamming old folks and vets. We won’t hear of it unless some clique or insider gets burned or scammed. Like with nepotism it’s from generation to generation unless some serious feds step in but that is not going to happen in some places. Would create too much devastation, ruin, prison time and havoc all over the place.

  9. Bwaa ha ha ha. “We are from the Gov/VA and here to help.” Again? Oh my who to trust, who to trust? Glad the Gov, VA, life created the eternal pessimist and critic in me.

    1) Anyone coming out for any reason including modern utility workers, suck workers I mean social workers (immune from prosecution like CPS, SWs are), med care types, etc., are told or trained to take-in and report to whomever whatever is in and outside the home or to report a vet with arms or collectables, cleanliness, religion, pets (their condition/well-being/shot/grooming info), family dynamics, wear leather, have colors or cut-offs, fall in a special classification two leggeds, etc. Are they a terrorist threat. Think not?! It’s USSR living in modern ‘Murica.’ Has been for years. Not to forget the activist in colleges being trained to work and function as so-called “professionals.” And those who have more controls over our info and records and not held to privacy rights or da laws. Will repeat this issue.

    2) Does Indy have that? Nope don’t think so. Wouldn’t and can’t trust them if they did. Seen too much shit, incompetence, intentional harms/neglect, activism and more politics, plus more zero professional ethics, and corruption.

    3) Vet homes for that and such are packed and with long wait lists. Better be ‘special’ for that move too, like with emergency housing. Will help to have family working in the housing arenas and local offices.

    4) People would be wise to try to keep up with “Medical Kidnapping” news. Shame we don’t have any real media and too much scrubbed from the net. Not being state, VA, or medical “compliant.” Or not living like the rest of society expects one to do.

    5) In some locations, states, we don’t have arrest or criminal blogs or much news to get the full dose of criminal activity going on and the many rip-offs. Especially with white collar crimes and the many scams of veterans and elderly. But our jails are hundreds over capacity. Some over 300% plus over. Oh we are damn near crime free and a perfect community for all to come invade.

    6) Reports about well known abuse, sex abuse, neglect and more is just now being made public about a local children’s orphanage. The masters had to keep things hushed up like rotten foster care and such until the offenders are long dead and the public doesn’t care much today about major issues. Same crap different day. Same thing with kid’s group homes then on to said ‘foster care.’ Great possibilities coming from damages to more damages. Then on to hushed up news about care givers or foster care doing nasties with those in their care or sex with invalids or those comatose? There’s a lot that isn’t news worthy or ALLOWED to be made for “public consumption.” Just love living in the land of the free and home of the brave. With free press. Cough cough.

    Brother or family or others (foster/under care) killing a vet (true story) for the money to be found by smells only. Media only reports on the most appalling of incidents involving kids or the disabled with some offenders going to prison for life over some reported or allowed for public consumption. Gotta get more intrusive laws passed and more controls for the state. Putting happy smiling faces on things don’t show realities behind the curtain or closed doors even in hospice, hospitals or nursing home care. Thefts, abuse, neglect, allowing for infections, stealing meds/IDs, mail, etc. Don’t want to smudge up the happy global villages images of love do we? Nor of the mighty VA and other ilk.

    Like prisons there are struggling nursing homes owned by special people/corporations that needs their beds filled. My father, and others, didn’t want anything to do with the VA or state workers, period. Had multiple jobs to keep his home clean and home nursing hired. Plus having family in med care around and do household chores. The state, a foreign MD still would not allow him to come home but told him we the family had him put in a nursing facility instead of coming home, placing him in a needy facility with lousy care. And she never did tell him the truth of it all, never. More about the medical dictatorship, ego, affiliated stockholders, family/corporite ties. It was all her not us. In that situation the state and officials are going by her/their demands not the patients nor family. With his health issues then along with infections increasing and health failing since and to his end. Keeping him and others doped up and ‘compliant’ didn’t help matters. They got all his money but NOT the property the state and nursing home wanted so badly. Oops new laws passed on that too so they can grab it all.

    Is this like the phony call for foster care for illegals and others, kids? Or for kids that turns out to be for illegals, their teens and etc. Then to let them run rampant all hours of the night and pretend they are getting quality mentoring and care or parenting? Horse shit. I can hear the cheerleaders and mom’s claiming perfection and all is well now. When a lot of it is about $$$$$$$. Oh and the control.

    God bless those in need and for the ones or families that are actually doing the good deeds with good intentions.

    With the enemies I have made along the line and the locale I am stuck in I don’t have a bright out-look on decent or good care as issues increase like older age. And nothing, nothing, from the VA nor Gov is going to help or help change things for many out here in la la land. If I don’t die off fast I might as well stick an exhaust hose up my nose and be done with it rather than play this game with health care or the VA that is always there to help. Already on their shit list for life… and many others.

  10. Not a bad income if you get 3 and can handle them. Have the space but couldn’t do the lifting. $7,200 per month. $86,400 annual income. A person could buy the space on that. And it would likely be better than most nursing home care unless you are in with old friends.

    1. Agree. This is a great alternative for extended family members of a veteran in need.

    2. Lem you could always hire in CNAs or others in home health care to do the lifting and heavy manipulations or special needs. Price depending. Or/and there are all kinds of lift aids out there to rent or purchase. Pain meds would be out and don’t allow anyone with the state or VA know about any MJ use. One quad was busted here for that, got arrested, put in a holding cell, denied health care, died in jail alone. Ain’t America great?

      Like we aren’t supposed to have debtors prison in America. Ha. In the hospital couldn’t make it to court. Arrested when released and home. Failure to appear and not following court orders to pay a medical bill at the rate they wanted, not what I could afford. Med gear on, in a holding cell, also denied medical attention on the second day. Pity we don’t see some reality on TV, sports, As the Stomach Churns, or tattooed on Kardashian’s buttocks. If I was one of those special people I don’t have to show-up for court.

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