National Family Caregivers Month 2023
Every November, National Family Caregivers Month recognizes and honors family and friend caregivers. JAHF joins the Caregiver Action Network, the Administration for Community Living, our grantees and other partners in the month-long campaign to raise awareness of caregiving issues, educate communities and increase support for the more than 53 million caregivers across the country.
Family Caregivers Month
The Caregiver Action Network (CAN) leads the observance of National Family Caregivers Month and has selected #CaregiversConnect as this year's theme to reflect the reality that caregiving can happen unexpectedly or at moments that may be inconvenient, requiring understanding and support from others.
Implementing the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers
Also throughout the month, the Administration for Community Living (ACL), JAHF and the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) are highlighting the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers from the RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council and sharing ways the National Strategy is being implemented:
- The Act on RAISE Campaign, led by the National Alliance for Caregiving, in solidarity with the aging, disability rights and patient advocacy communities, is bringing together stakeholders across the caregiving continuum to strengthen the National Strategy.
- The campaign organized Caregiver Nation Summit 2023, an in-person advocacy summit focused on America’s unpaid family caregivers. Leaders from across the country met October 25-26 to visit the Hill, shape the future of family caregiving, and drive action on the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers.
- SupportCaregiving.org, from the NASHP, offers resources that employers, funders, managed care plans and states can use to implement the National Strategy.
- Grantmakers in Aging created an Action Guide For Philanthropy for SupportCaregiving.org and as part of its Family Caregiving Funders Community.
- Together in Care: The Direct Care Worker and Family Caregiver Initiative has launched from PHI and the National Alliance for Caregiving to draw attention to the policy barriers, research needs, and interventions that can better support the paid and unpaid caregiving workforce.
JAHF Grantee Resources
Supporting family caregivers is one of JAHF's three priority areas, and its grantees produce resources to better serve caregivers nationwide. Use and share the following resources in November and throughout the year:
For clinicians and providers
- Supporting Diverse Family Caregivers: A Guide for Patient Advocacy Groups, a guidebook from the National Alliance for Caregiving.
- Modules and training from the Diverse Elders Coalition help health care and social service organizations better meet the needs of diverse caregivers (scroll down Diverse Elders Coalition website for toolkit and What Providers Should Know factsheet series).
- RUSH Center for Excellence in Aging Caring for Caregivers (C4C) model, developed to incorporate family caregivers into the Age-Friendly care of older adults.
- Educating nurse practitioners on dementia care management in diverse health systems is part of the UCLA Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program’s partnership with national organizations like EDC.
- The Family Caregiver Alliance's Best Practice Caregiving, an online resource for health care and social service organizations.
- The Conversation Project, Building Bridges of Understanding: Conversations through the End of Life for Veterans.
Policy resources
- Valuing the Invaluable 2023 Update: Strengthening Supports for Family Caregivers, a report from the AARP Public Policy Institute.
- The RAISE Act State Policy Roadmap for Family Caregivers explainer from the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP).
- Emerging Respite Care Strategies in Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Waivers for Older Adults, Adults with Physical Disabilities, and their Family Caregivers, a report from NASHP.
- Establishing Cross-Sector Partnerships to Improve Family Caregiver Supports, a tool from the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS).
- Making the Invisible Visible: State Strategies for Identifying and Reaching Family Caregivers, a CHCS brief.
- Chronic Disease Family Caregiving Through A Public Health Lens, a report from the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD).
- Building a National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers: Findings from Key Informant Interviews and Stakeholder Listening Sessions, a report from the Leading Age LTSS Center @UMass Boston and the Center for Consumer Engagement in Health Innovation at Community Catalyst.
- Article series, Supporting Family Caregivers, from the American Journal of Nursing, in collaboration with the AARP Public Policy Institute.
For family caregivers
- Next Avenue's Caregiving in America: The 24/7 Caregiver Special Report series, supported by JAHF, answers caregivers questions and provides helpful information for family caregivers.
- A Johns Hopkins and OpenNotes tutorial video from Providence shows family caregivers how to get shared access to electronic health records of the older adults they care for.
- A series of how-to videos from AARP prepares family caregivers for a hospital stay.
- FAIR Health offers actionable tools with healthcare cost information for older adults and family caregivers.
- WebMD discusses Caregiving for Older Adults, an article produced in partnership with JAHF as part of a series on Age-Friendly Care.
- The Family Caregiver Alliance caregiver resources.
Go to CAN's National Family Caregivers Month page.
Go to the 2022 National Strategy for Family Caregivers.
Learn more about ACL's RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council.
Go to NASHP's RAISE Act Family Caregiver Implementation and Technical Assistance Center.
Learn more about JAHF's support of Family Caregiving.
