title: The VA Caregiver Support Line: A Gateway of Support for Caregivers of Veterans.
abstract: In passing the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010, Congress created a legislative mandate for the Veterans Administration (VA) to strengthen its program of support services for caregivers of veterans. As part of this expansion, the VA implemented a nationwide toll-free telephone Caregiver Support Line (CSL). The CSL is a single point of entry system to link caregivers to national and local services to support care of a veteran. This article describes the CSL and its role in supporting aging veterans and their caregivers, discusses social workers' contributions to its development and implementation, and reports utilization data.
authors.affiliation: a VA Caregiver Support Line , Canandaigua , New York , USA.
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Cari
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Malcolm
authors.forename: Bret
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hicken
authors.forename: Rand
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rupper
mesh_terms: D017028:Caregivers; D015277:Hotlines; D006801:Humans; D012944:Social Support; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs / Q000458:organization & administration; D014728:Veterans
keywords: caregivers; telephone support lines; veterans