Rhode Island General Laws Title 40. Human Services § 40-8.11-3. Caregiver assessment requirement

(a) The comprehensive assessment required in §40-8.10-4(b) as part of Medicaid long-term service reform shall also include a caregiver assessment whenever the plan of care depends on a family caregiver for providing assistance with activities of daily living or instrumental activities of daily living needs. The assessment shall be used to develop a plan of care that recognizes both needs of the care recipient and the caregiver. The assessment shall also serve as the basis for development and provision of an appropriate plan for caregiver information, education and training, referral, and support services. Information about available respite programs, caregiver training, and education programs, support groups, and community support services shall be included as part of the caregiver support plan. To implement the caregiver assessment, the executive office of health and human services shall adopt evidenced-based caregiver assessments and referral tools appropriate to the departments within the office that provide long-term-care services and support.

(b) The executive office of health and human services shall develop annual reports to track data on the number of caregiver assessments conducted; the identified needs of caregivers to include both met and unmet needs; and referrals made for education, respite, and other support services. The reports shall be provided to the chairs of the house and senate finance committees as part of annual budget hearings and the chair of the long-term-care coordinating council and posted on the executive office of health and human services website.