More than 400 elderly people are enrolled in subsidized home-care programs in Southern Maine.

The state makes registration of such home-care programs voluntary, so no one knows how many children are enrolled.

"We will confirm a family's maximum lifetime benefits package before setting up a home-care program."

We will be developing nonacute-care facilities, hospices and home-care programs.

"Our home-care program now has 250 people registered," Mr. Verzi said.

The critics say many families depend on home-care programs to help tend to the aging.

Its home-care program for the elderly in Williamsburg employs 600 attendants and operates on a $12 million annual budget.

The 95-bed hospital also runs a children's home-care program.

The researchers based their findings on a study of 216 elderly women who were enrolled in a home-care program but were eligible for nursing homes.

So it's a real challenge for home-care programs on Long Island to find appropriate staff.