Throughout my career in the aging network, I have witnessed time and again the critical role family caregivers play in helping ensure loved ones remain healthy, involved, and independent. Across this nation, millions of Americans — of all ages — step into the role of caregiver for spouses, children, grandchildren, neighbors, and friends. As populations of disabled people and older adults continue to grow — and as thousands of grandparent and kin caregivers step up each year to raise children who cannot remain with their parents — caregiving is more important than ever before.
Caregivers are the backbone of both our long-term services and supports system, as well as our health care system; they have earned our gratitude and support not only during National Family Caregivers Month, but year-round. That’s why caregiver support has been a major focus for ACL in recent years. We are seeing real progress. Through a range of programs and initiatives, ACL and its partners have made important strides toward increasing caregiver supports and recognition.
ACL facilitates two important advisory councils: the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregiving Advisory Council and the Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. Together, these two councils developed the first National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers in September 2022. Since the release of the national strategy, the councils, ACL, and our partners have been hard at work implementing it. This past September, the councils released the 2024 Federal Progress Report that outlines the work of 15 federal agencies to carry out the original 350 federal actions in the strategy — and to commit to almost 40 new actions on top of that. This unparalleled collaboration has created new programs and initiatives to directly support caregivers. I was honored to be a part of the most recent public meeting of the councils earlier this month, where planning was underway for an update to the national strategy.
ACL also continues to bolster support and services for caregivers. Some of our key programs include the Alzheimer’s Disease Programs Initiative, Community Care Corps, Lifespan Respite Care Program, and Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network. Wherever we can, we bring communities together to work toward common goals. Through Older Americans Act programs like nutrition services, chronic disease self-management education, and falls prevention, ACL is also working to ensure the health of older adults is maintained and improved, thus further supporting the efforts of their family caregivers. The Bridging Aging and Disability Networks grant is a prime example of how the aging and disabilities networks collaborate to better support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their family caregivers. ACL’s work to strengthen the direct care workforce also helps support caregivers and enables older adults and people with disabilities to live in their own homes and communities.
Across all this work, the national strategy remains our North Star — guiding our efforts with its goals, principles, actions, and recommendations.
Last year, ACL announced the launch of the National Caregiver Support Collaborative (NCSC), a multifaceted initiative to increase recognition, support, and inclusion of family, kin, and tribal caregivers across the country. Funded by the OAA, the collaborative is the first federally funded national effort to build the capacity of critical OAA programs — including the National Family Caregiver Support Program and the Native American Caregiver Support Program — in more than 20 years. The goal is to develop, test, and disseminate new approaches for supporting family caregivers, using the National Strategy as a road map. Originally a five-grant program, ACL announced the addition of a sixth NCSC grant last month. This grant will focus on increasing understanding and implementation of effective approaches to navigator services that help caregivers and those receiving care identify and access the supports they need to thrive.
ACL has also just announced four new state implementation grants to California, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin. These funds will be used to develop statewide activities to implement the goals, recommendations, and actions outlined in the strategy, breaking down silos and engaging diverse populations that have been historically underserved and under-resourced.
This work extends far beyond the federal government. States and communities across the nation are also using the national strategy as a guide and a motivation to move in the right direction. ACL works with both The John A. Hartford Foundation and the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) to provide technical assistance and a road map for local governments and organizations to identify innovative and effective ways to better recognize and support family caregivers. In October, NASHP released its own progress and impact report that captured the widespread engagement, progress, and momentum on the local level inspired by the national strategy. We realize that it’s not enough to create new programs and initiatives. We must also ensure that these programs fit together and that caregivers and people receiving care know about the supports and services available to them.
During National Family Caregivers Month and this season of giving thanks, we celebrate not only the progress of the last few years but also the prospect of a stronger, more coordinated system of services and supports for family caregivers made possible through partnerships across government and with the private sector. By working together — and with the national strategy to guide us — we are building a better future for all of us.