Jayla Sanchez-Warren is the director of the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) at the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG). Jayla has spent her career serving, advocating, and planning for older adults. She is responsible for developing the Metropolitan Denver Regional Plan on Aging every four years. She has improved internal systems, increased funding, expanded partnerships and developed resources and services for older adults and people living with disabilities in the region.

Jayla explains the functions of the Area Agency on Aging and all the issues that the AAA has faced and continue to deal with during Covid.

Jane Barton, author of Caregiving for the GENIUS, is a passionate national speaker, writer, and listener. As the founder of Cardinal, LLC, she provides educational programs, books, videos, podcasts, and blogs to assist people in confronting the daunting challenges posed by aging, serious illness, and the end of life. As the Caregiving Ambassador for AARP Colorado (2014-2018), she offers educational programs for personal and professional caregivers throughout the state of Colorado.

Jane discusses questions around kids as caregivers:

1. At some point in time, we will all be called to care for a family member or friend. But there is a population of caregivers in the U.S. that is not recognized by professionals or the public - Caregiving Youth. These are kids age 8-18 years of age. Why should we be concerned about kids serving as family caregivers?

2. Who are these kids caring for and what are they being asked to do on a day-to-day basis?

3. Were you called to care for someone when you were a kid?

4. What are the possible consequences of kids assuming the responsibilities of care for a family member?

5. We also know that approximately 5 million family caregivers over the age of 18 are seeking degrees at colleges and universities. Jane highlights some of the challenges these older students face when trying to balance learning and caring?

6. How can we support caregiving youth and adult students who also care?

To learn more about caregiving and Jane Barton, please go to https://cardinalife.com.

If you have questions or need services, Jayla urges you to contact the Area Agency on Aging. They will try to answer your questions and help you through your challenges. Please call 303-480-6700 to speak with one of Jayla’s staff.

Thanks for listening to No Copay Radio! You can hear all of our past No Copay Radio broadcasts on www.nocopayradio.com. We also have a Facebook page at No Copay Radio. Please email us at nocopayradio@gmail.com for any questions, comments, or recommendations for future topics.

As always, thank you to our partner, Denver Regional Council of Governments Area Agency on Aging. You can reach the Area Agency on Aging at (303) 480-6700 or at www.drcog.networkofcare.org. Our past broadcasts are also available on the Network of Care website.