Caregivers Can Go Online for Pointers

With approximately 52 million Americans serving as caregivers today, the need for fast, useful information has never been higher. While there are dozens of sites that offer good caregiving information, here are a few I've found to be particularly helpful.

• AGIS.com: Short for Assist Guide Information Services, this is a fabulous Web resource for caregivers. At www.agis.com, you can get information on topics such as home care, daily living aides, long-term care solutions, support services, legal and financial help and more.

  It also lets you ask questions, links you to other caregivers for support and information, and offers a variety of checklists that suggest tips on what to do as a caregiver and how to do it.

• Caring.com: Relatively new on the scene, www.caring.com is another wonderful site that offers tons of practical information, articles, caregiving to-do lists, links to local resources and much more.

• The Family Caregiver Alliance: This is the oldest and perhaps most respected organization that's helped serve the needs of caregivers. They also have a dandy Web site (www.caregiver.org) that offers a Family Care Navigator map that lists a broad range of caregiving services in each state.