Social Worker Funding - Subaward No. 9092_NW (SW) - LEADS

As part of enrollment into LEADS, Northwestern Mesulam Center Outreach, Recruitment and Community Engagement (ORE) Core Social Workers will conduct a psychosocial assessment of research participants and families at no cost, to ascertain how the research participant and family are coping, determine needed resources, provide education and counseling and assist the participant and family in developing a long-term plan tailored to their needs and the patient’s neurocognitive symptoms. ORE Core Social workers will be available to LEADS research participants on an ongoing basis as psychosocial needs arise as part of the Psychosocial Pathway, a formalized assessment protocol based on psychosocial complexity and safety risk. LEADS research staff are trained to identify complicating psychosocial factors that impact functioning and participant retention and will refer the participant and family to the ORE Core Social Work team. The social work team is particularly equipped to assess, educate and counsel individuals presenting with younger and mid-life onset Alzheimer’s dementia. The social worker will contact the research participant and/or family for psychosocial assessment, planning and resource linkage so they can find appropriate help. This intervention includes but is not limited to the provision of: • Dementia education • Individual and family counseling • Long term care planning o Legal / financial; i.e., power of attorney, estate planning, social security, and other entitlement programs o Advance directives • Local Services and Support o Home Care o Adult Day Services o Support Groups o Social engagement opportunities • Addressing Safety o Home o Driving