Renee Benson Email and Phone Number

Active collaborationsSeptember 2007 -- February 2013Member, NYS Caregiver Council (appointment position through Governor’s office and the NYSOFA) The Council reviews key policies related to family caregiving; is conducting a comprehensive review of existing services and needs of family caregivers; proposing services and/or policy changes to strengthen family caregiving; and working to strengthen the ability of local agencies to identify, assess, and support caregivers’ needs. The Council provides the Governor’s office and the State Office for the Aging recommendations on issues related to caregiving. 2006 -- 2013Member, Kinship Care CoalitionHeaded by AARP, the Coalition represents 50 organizations throughout the state that service kinship caregivers. It is dedicated to empowering the grandparents and other relatives who are raising nearly half a million children in New York State. Its goal is to remove barriers facing kinship caregivers and engage policy makers in the areas of education, health, legal issues, temporary assistance, and child welfare. http://www.aarp.org/families/grandparents/2006 -- 2009 President, Statewide Caregivers Consortium of NYS (previously known as the NENY Caregiver Consortium) This Consortium strives to create a strong network of caregiving agencies that are qualified and prepared to meet the growing need for home-based support for families working to keep their loved ones at home. www.nenycaregivers.org 2007 -- 2009Point of contact for the ARCH National Respite NetworkThe mission of the this Network is promoting the development of quality respite and crisis care programs, to help families locate these services in their communities, and to serve as a strong voice for respite in all forums. Their website includes the National Respite Locator Service, which helps caregivers and professionals locate respite services in their communities. http://www.archrespite.org/