**********************A************************************************ COUNCIL FOR JEWISH ELDERLY Analysis of Family Decision-Making in Selection of Alternatives to Institutionalization: A Tool for Service Planners and Providers

ABSTRACT Research into the decisionmaking process of families faced with investigating alternatives to institutionalizing frail aged members could yield valuable information for service planners and providers. To analyze the extent to which its original service plan remained responsive to the changing needs of the frail elderly service population, interviews were conduted with 36 family caregivers who contacted the Council for Jewish Elderly (CJE) for planning assistance in selecting alternatives to permanent institutionalization of their frail elderly relatives. Analysis of interview data revealed six alternatives most frequently considered by families: long-term care, companions, supportive congregate housing, counseling, in-home services, and independent housing. Companions and supportive congregate housing services were not provided by CJE. The data on barriers to successful attainment of preferred services indicated that one in four families had sought alternatives which they reported were unavailable, and 35.3 percent reported cost as a barrier to services. Over half of the respondents indicated that some option mentioned by the CJE social worker had been unfamiliar to them. Some respondents reported that their elderly relatives had refused at least one option which the caregiver had considered, and some level of conflict between the caregiver and the elder was present in 61.5 percent of the families. In response to these findings, CJE has begun a planning effort to analyze further how the needs for companion and supportive congregate living characterizing the sample, and the population it represented, could best be addressed. (NRB)