Over 53 million family caregivers support older adults and individuals with disabilities to live in the community each year. Many caregivers do not see themselves as caregivers or lack the information necessary to make informed choices or request assistance. As the nation’s population ages and life expectancy increases, the need for support provided by a family member or friend will more than likely increase.
To address this growing need, ACL awards cooperative agreements to state units on aging to advance the implementation of the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers. These grants are intended to help states increase awareness, knowledge, and access to services and resources and improve outcomes for older adults, individuals with disabilities, and their caregivers.
Successfully implementing the strategy’s actions and recommendations may require breaking down silos that exist between state agencies. The state implementation projects must collaborate with their state developmental disabilities agency and at least one additional state agency — such as one focused on public health, Medicaid, transportation, or workforce development, as well as a tribe or tribal agency.
Projects must focus on at least three of the following strategy goals, as determined by the state’s needs and priorities.
- Goal 1: Increase awareness of and outreach to family caregivers
- Goal 2: Advance partnerships and engagement with family caregivers
- Goal 3: Strengthen services and supports for family caregivers
- Goal 4: Ensure financial and workplace security for family caregivers
- Goal 5: Expand data, research, and evidence-based practices to support family caregivers
2024 Grantees
California Department of Aging
Caregiver Awareness, Resources, Education, & Support (CalCARES) is a program of the California Department of Aging (CDA). Under the umbrella of the California Health and Human Services Agency, CDA administers programs that serve older adults, adults with disabilities, family caregivers, and residents in long-term care facilities throughout the state. These programs are funded through the Older Americans Act, the Older Californians Act, and the Medi-Cal program.
- Project Overview
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CalCARES is a two-year project designed to help caregivers serving older adults and people with disabilities from underserved and under-resourced communities. The project aims to develop, test, and scale models to improve awareness, navigation, and educational opportunities for California’s caregivers. Central to California’s Master Plan for Aging is ensuring support for caregivers who are the backbone supporting older adults and people with disabilities in their homes and communities.
- National Strategy Goals Addressed
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- Increase awareness of and outreach to family caregivers
- Advance partnerships and engagement with family caregivers
- Strengthen services and supports for family caregivers
- Project Objectives
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- Increase awareness about the role and value of caregivers, the unique needs of caregivers, and key resources by leveraging trusted community voices and media as messengers.
- Maximize caregiver engagement and navigation through the steps necessary to facilitate referrals to services in the community by developing connections across the health care and home and community-based services sectors.
- Increase access to high-quality training and education for caregivers, including those engaged in complex care tasks.
Maryland Department of Aging
The Maryland Department of Aging is preparing the state’s infrastructure for longer lives and a growing 60+ community by developing innovative approaches to aging, advancing multisector collaborations, and increasing access to resources.
- Project Overview
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Envisioned by the Maryland departments of Aging, Human Services, Disabilities, and Health in concert with the state commissions on caregiving and Alzheimer’s and dementia, the Maryland Caregiver Navigation Grant, plans to transform and streamline state infrastructures to meet existing and future caregiver navigation needs in alignment with the strategy’s goals.
- National Strategy Goals Addressed
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- Advance partnerships and engagement with family caregivers
- Strengthen services and supports for family caregivers
- Expand data, research, and evidence-based practices to support family caregivers
- Project Objectives
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- Enhance the Maryland Commission on Caregiving’s capacity to integrate cross-agency caregiver services and partnerships efficiently and sustainably.
- Create accountability and integration across state agencies and commissions related to caregiver-related issues.
- Use data-driven analysis to implement evidence-based caregiver support, education, and resources to targeted populations.
Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs provides quality aging-related resources, tools, and support through a network of regional nonprofits and municipal agencies across the state. The agency partners with providers, caregivers, and the 1.7 million older adults in Massachusetts to help individuals live and thrive throughout the aging process.
- Project Overview
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Massachusetts’ project will develop a body of knowledge to advance policy that will provide working solutions for family caregivers. The project will focus on three areas of policy change focused on improving the readiness of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services agency for an aging population.
- National Strategy Goals Addressed
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- Increase awareness of and outreach to family caregivers
- Strengthen services and supports for family caregivers
- Expand data, research, and evidence-based practices to support family caregivers
- Project Objectives
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- Establish a cross-agency workgroup that includes caregiving subject matter experts at state-level health and human service agencies to identify caregiver priorities and barriers to access.
- Collaborate with regional and grassroots agencies across the state to support and evaluate replicable interventions to reduce caregiver burden and isolation and improve the emotional and economic well-being of caregivers enrolled in the Massachusetts Family Caregiver Support Program.
- Update, maintain, and distribute an accessible guide of caregiver resources for information and referral specialists.
- Analyze the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Caregiver Module data and the findings from sub-grant projects to inform policy change.
Wisconsin Department of Health Services
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ Office on Aging is responsible for developing and promoting public policy and planning for the delivery of services to enhance the self-sufficiency of older adults of all incomes and conditions. The department administers programs and activities required, authorized, and/or funded by the Older Americans Act and the Wisconsin Elders Act.
- Project Overview
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The Wisconsin Department of Health Services aims to improve the family caregiving experience and increase support for family caregivers using the strategy as a framework. Specifically, the project will support the creation of a new respite care worker co-op with tools and resources available throughout the state.
- National Strategy Goals Addressed
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- Increase awareness of and outreach to family caregivers
- Advance partnerships and engagement with family caregivers
- Strengthen services and supports for family caregivers
- Ensure financial and workplace security for family caregivers
- Project Objectives
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- Enhance outreach and identification of family caregivers by leveraging existing technological platforms and partnerships to improve education, awareness, and accessibility of caregiving information at the point of need.
- Establish statewide relationships with policymakers, making professional connections using tailored engagement strategies, and providing free targeted training to support family caregivers in Wisconsin.
- Strengthen and improve caregiver well-being by offering nutritious home-delivered meals and respite through a new Family Caregiver Mental Health and Wellness Grant Program.
- Increase access to respite and other home and community-based services by providing start-up grants to graduates of the Respite Care Association of Wisconsin’s Bringing Respite to Your Community training.
- Foster a supportive workplace environment for family caregivers in Wisconsin through comprehensive awareness and employer engagement strategies.