Dementia Care Specialist Program

What is a dementia care specialist?

The mission of the Dementia Care Specialist Program is to support people with dementia and their caregivers in order to ensure the highest quality of life possible while living at home. In order to accomplish this mission, the dementia care specialists (DCSs) have four goals:

1. Provide free information and assistance to adults with memory or cognitive concerns, or who have been given a dementia diagnosis. They can help with:

• Independence. Dementia care specialists are local experts on Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. They can help connect you with all of the opportunities available in your community to keep you active and involved.
• Memory screening. Dementia care specialists and other staff members at the aging and disability resource center (ADRC) or tribal agency perform memory screens. A memory screen is a tool that helps identify possible memory and cognitive changes. Like a blood pressure screening, this tool is only an indicator. The dementia care specialist may advise a follow-up with a doctor about memory and cognition.
• Research opportunities. Dementia care specialists can connect you to research studies that attempt to further understand the causes and possible treatments for Alzheimer's disease and other dementia.
• Enrichment opportunities. Some dementia care specialists provide specific activities and programs that connect people with dementia to music, art, nature, and social activities.

2. Provide information and support to family members and friends who are caregivers, such as:

• Assistance with care planning. Dementia care specialists can help to address your current situation and plan for the future, including advance care plans and connections to legal and financial planning experts.
• Connections to support groups and respite. Dementia care specialists know about all of the opportunities and resources available in your community and can help you find information and make connections.
• Support through programming. Dementia care specialists run support programs to assist family caregivers in providing care for their loved ones at home while maintaining their own health and well-being.

3. Help develop dementia-friendly communities where people with dementia can remain active and safe, and caregivers can feel supported. Dementia-friendly communities include:

• Memory cafes. Dementia care specialists create and support memory cafes. A memory cafe is a meeting place for anyone who has begun to experience changes in memory. It can be a fun way to connect with others who are dealing with the same issues. The intent is for people with memory or cognitive issues and their family or friends to come together in a relaxed and social environment to connect with one another. Each memory cafe is unique, as the participants are encouraged to make it their own.
• Dementia-friendly businesses. Dementia care specialists can provide training to a business, organization, or other group to help them understand dementia better and be equipped to respond warmly and effectively when serving people living with dementia and their caregivers.
• Public presentations and meetings. Dementia care specialists are local experts on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and can provide interactive, informative presentations on topics including, but not limited to: brain health, dementia, warning signs, caregiving, and dementia-friendly community initiatives.
• Dementia coalitions. Many dementia care specialists facilitate or support coalitions that bring together people from the community to work on dementia-related initiatives.

4. Train other staff at the ADRCs and other county and municipal offices to be dementia-capable.

• Dementia-capable ADRCs and tribal agencies. Dementia care specialists work with ADRC and tribal agency staff to equip them to provide appropriate, competent, and sensitive supports to people with dementia and their caregivers.
• Dementia-capable county agencies. Dementia care specialists work with veteran service officers, police and sheriff departments, public health departments, transportation departments, and other agencies to ensure that staff members are equipped to respond warmly and effectively when serving people living with dementia and their caregivers.

Program reports summarizing achievements of these goals are available for 2015 through 2017:

• 2015 (P-01284) (PDF)
• 2016 (P-01775) (PDF)
• 2017 (P-02157) (PDF)

Where can I find a dementia care specialist?

Dementia care specialists are employed by ADRCs in select counties. Currently there are 21 dementia care specialists working in ADRCs, covering 34 counties.

Dementia care specialists are also employed by tribal agencies. There are currently three tribal dementia care specialists.

Contact information for ADRCs and tribes with a dementia care specialist is listed below. If your county does not have a dementia care specialist, your county or regional ADRC or tribal aging and disability resource specialist can help.

ADRC Contact Information–Dementia Care Specialists

Tribal Contact Information–Dementia Care Specialists