For Professionals

This page is for professionals who offer caregiver consultation or are interested in becoming trained in caregiver consultation.

Best Practices
Below is a guide to best practices when delivering caregiver consultation services.
- Caregiver Consultation Best Practices (PDF)
Training Available
The Minnesota Board on Aging offers online training in caregiver consultation. Caregiver Consultation training is required for professionals delivering the service with funding from the Older Americans Act (Title III-E) or reimbursement from the Elderly Waiver, Alternative Care or Essential Community Supports programs.

More detailed information can be found in the Caregiver Consultation Provider Guide (PDF).

Information about the Caregiver Consultation service offered for caregivers of waiver recipients is available in the Community Based Services Manual (CBSM). In the CBSM, caregiver consultation is referred to as caregiver counseling.

The online training consists of the following courses:

Required Courses

Core Curriculum
- Overview of Caregiving
- Overview of Caregiver Consultation
- Assessment
- Planning
- Common Caregiving Needs.
Cultural Responsiveness
- Tools for your practice when caring for American Indians.
- Tools for your practice when caring for Somali Older Adults.
- Tools for your practice when caring for African American Older Adults.
- Tools for your practice when caring for Hmong Older Adults.
Public Benefits Knowledge
- Elderly Waiver Foundations 1: Administration and Eligibility.
Optional courses (not required to offer caregiver consultation services)

Facilitation Skills
- Facilitating Family Meetings
- Facilitating Caregiver Support Groups
Ongoing education opportunities
Resources for professionals working with caregivers
Assessment Materials

Caregiver Consultants are not required to use a specific assessment tool. However, caregiver consultation must include a comprehensive assessment (as defined by the Family Caregiver Alliance). Below are assessment materials that Caregiver Consultants may consider using as part of a comprehensive assessment.
- MBA Caregiver Assessment (PDF)
- Preparedness for Caregiving Scale (PDF)
- Evidence-based Caregiver Stress and Burden Assessment Tools & Resources (from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services)
Other materials

Family meeting handouts

These handouts are from the 2017 Minnesota Board on Aging training “Inside the Family Meeting: Mastering the Family Meeting”. They are optional tools that professionals may find useful when facilitating a family meeting.