“Calling it the ‘sandwich generation’ is just a nice way of saying you’re caught between your parents and your own children,” said Fox, 43, of Milwaukee, who took in her ailing mother two years ago while parenting two teenagers.

Although her mother, Sara Muhammad, 66, does not drive and has difficulty walking, Fox never considered rejecting the caregiver role. “I did it out of not wanting my mother in a nursing home or around strangers,” she said.

Her experience reflects the difficulties caregivers face and she is just one of the half a million caregivers in Wisconsin.

‘One-stop’ resource centers

Wisconsin has long prided itself on above-average services for older people, people with disabilities and their caregivers, although recent budget cuts have stalled key programs, including the Family Care Partnership program for in-home caregivers.