State Responsibilities to Support Rural Caregiving: The Georgia Example

A number of key factors that limit the quality and use of formal community-based services in rural communities are documented in the literature. These barriers include a lack of program funding, an inadequate workforce supply, the geographic distance between service-providers and clients, and caregivers’ reluctance to use formal services and their lack of awareness and understanding about available services (Infeld, 2004; Morgan et al., 2002). Rural caregivers are less likely to use most formal services that might assist them in their caregiving efforts, supporting the overall observation that services are less available in rural areas (Easter Seals and National Alliance for Caregiving, 2006).