Millions of family caregivers provide essential, often unrecognized support, and are increasingly seen as a group needing attention for both their own and their care recipients' well-being. In 2022, the Administration for Community Living (ACL) launched the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers, marking the first national effort to recognize and assist family caregivers.
ACL announced cooperative agreement awards in support of the Strategy. Through these four-year awards, grantees will develop, test, and disseminate new approaches for supporting family caregivers, using the Strategy as a roadmap.
Each grantee will focus on one goal within the Strategy. The CAP-CT initiative was selected to fulfill the Strategy’s second goal to advance partnerships and engagement with family caregivers.
Goal 1: Increase awareness and outreach to family caregivers (Community Catalyst)
Goal 2: Advance partnerships and engagement with family caregivers (University of California, San Francisco)
Goal 3: Strengthen services and supports for family caregivers (USAging)
Goal 4: Ensure financial and workplace security for family caregivers (USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology)
Goal 5: Expand data, research, and evidence-based practices (National Alliance for Caregiving)
The National Caregiver Support Collaborative (NCSC) promotes cross-collaboration among grantees, aiming to create meaningful change for caregivers across the U.S.
• 1 in 5 Americans are family caregivers [1].
• About 80% of home care is provided by unpaid caregivers [2].
• 28% of caregivers are "sandwich caregivers," caring for both children and adults [3].
• 61% of caregivers report working while caregiving [3].
• Family caregivers lose an estimated $522 billion in wages annually [4].
• Today’s family caregivers are diverse [5].
Valuable context – caregivers can provide insights about a patient's daily life, ultimately streamlining the care process.
Better experience – sharing patient information with caregivers leads to higher patient and caregiver satisfaction [6].
Greater satisfaction - when caregivers feel prepared, they are more likely to report less stress and depression and better quality of life for themselves [7].
Reduced risk - having a caregiver reduces the risk of hospital readmission after an acute illness [8].
This website is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $5,368,809 with 79% percentage funded by ACL/HHS and $1,142,779; 21% percentage funded by non-government source(s). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.