National Family Caregivers Month 2024
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, show recent progress 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 the 2024
theme, I Care..., to highlight the
importance of self-recognition and self-identity — key factors in caregivers’
access to essential support. Identifying as a caregiver opens the door to
the family caregiver support needed throughout their journey.
Progress on Implementing the 2022 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 significant progress that has been made on implementing recommendations from the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers. Two recent reports detail implementation so far:
- ACL's 2024 Report to Congress: Progress Report: Federal Implementation of the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers. The 2024 report details that in the two years since the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers release, nearly all the federal actions committed to in 2022 were complete or are in progress, and federal agencies committed to almost 40 new actions since the strategy’s release. Along with the report, ACL published a set of data tables showing the status of more nearly 350 actions undertaken by 15 federal agencies in support of the strategy.
- NASHP's National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers Progress and Impact Report 2024: State and Community Actions. The 2024 report serves as a companion to the 2024 Federal Progress report and highlights some of the initial impacts of the National Strategy on states, communities, providers, employers and others in assisting the 53 million family caregivers, millions of grandparent caregivers and an unknown number of other relative caregivers.
Related progress:
- 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 has organized the upcoming Caregiver Nation Summit 2024, an in-person advocacy summit focused on America’s unpaid family caregivers that is being held on November 20-21.
- Caregiver Nation Network, a National Alliance for Caregiving and Grantmakers In Aging initiative that supports state-based caregiving advocacy coalitions.
- ACL is holding the next Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, & Engage (RAISE) Family Caregiving Advisory Council Meeting on November 13, 12pm-5pm ET and open to all.
- 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, from PHI and the National Alliance for Caregiving, draws attention to the policy barriers, research needs, and interventions that can better support the paid and unpaid caregiving workforce.
- The Cross-State Caregiving Collaborative from ADvancing States unites states with national experts to share and develop promising practices and policies that integrate family caregivers and direct care workers.
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).
- Introducing a New Paradigm for Supporting Family Caregivers from the Center to Advance Palliative Care outlines the tremendous impact of caregiving - plus five steps clinicians can take right now to support family caregivers in their practice.
- RUSH Center for Excellence in Aging Caring for Caregivers (C4C) model, developed to incorporate family caregivers into the Age-Friendly care of older adults, includes November 2024-June 2025 C4C Learning Community meetings.
- Foundational Skills for Engaging Caregivers in Health Care course for health care teams from Caregivers As Partners in Care Teams (CAP-CT) at the University of California, San Francisco.
- 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.
- Best Programs for Caregiving - Provider Database, an online resource for health care and social service organizations to select proven dementia caregiving programs for their patients and clients.
- The Conversation Project, Building Bridges of Understanding: Conversations through the End of Life for Veterans.
Policy resources
- Updated Direct Care Workforce State Index and Report, from PHI.
- Person- and Family-Centered Practices: State Policy Resource Guide, resources for state officials from the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), in partnership with National Center for Advancing Person-Centered Practices and Systems (NCAPPS).
- State Innovations to Advance Respite Care: Policy Strategies Shared at the State-Federal Respite Summit, a brief from NASHP.
- State Spotlight - Oregon’s Medicaid 1115 Waiver Expands Care for Older Adults, Adults with Disabilities, and Their Family Caregivers, a blog from NASHP.
- LTSS State Scorecard: Resources and Practices Spotlight Series, a series of articles from AARP LTSS Choices.
- The Older Americans Act and Supporting Family Caregivers - Older Americans Act Reauthorization is Critical to Family Caregivers in Every Community, a policy brief from NAC and Act on RAISE.
For family caregivers
- Best Programs for Caregiving for Family Caregivers, an online resource for family caregivers to find proven dementia caregiving programs.
- 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.
- Better Caregiving For All, a monthly webinar series from UCLA Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care (ADC) Program.
- 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 ACL's 2024 Report to Congress: Progress Report: Federal Implementation of the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers.
Go to NASHP's National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers Progress and Impact Report 2024: State and Community Actions.
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
