Caregiver Supports

An estimated 53 million Americans provide care for an older adult, or someone living with illness or disability.ⁱ Family caregivers provide a wide range of services, such as transportation, food preparation, housekeeping and personal care enabling care recipients to live at home or in the setting of their choice with dignity and independence. Additionally, there are at least 2.4 million children being raised by grandparents or other relative caregivers, serving as a safety net and providing care when children’s parents are unable.ⁱⁱ 
 
Families are the major provider of long-term care for loved ones. These unpaid caregivers represent the largest source of long-term services and supports in the nation. Without supportive services, nearly 62 percent of caregivers have suggested that the individual they care for would be living in a nursing home.ⁱⁱⁱ Recent estimates indicate the value of unpaid caregiving has reached $600 billion annually.^iv

Serving as a caregiver of an older adult, person with a disability or a relative child can exact a heavy toll—emotionally, physically and financially—for the person assuming this role. The average age of a caregiver for an older adult or person with a disability is 49, a time in many people’s lives when they are still raising a family and actively employed.^v Almost half of grandparents raising grandchildren are age 60 and older.

Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) provide direct support to kin caregivers and caregivers of older adults and people with disabilities, primarily through the National Family Caregiver Support Program (Title III E of the Older Americans Act). Services include respite care; individual counseling and support groups; caregiver education classes/training; and emergency assistance. AAAs also play a crucial role in information and referral and caregiver navigation, ensuring families are connected with local providers who can help them create a caregiving plan, address specific challenges and  ensure they receive the right services at the right time.
 
USAging Resources 

• Caregiver Navigation
• Caregiver Services and Supports
• Center for Dementia Respite Innovation
• Eldercare Locator’s Caregiver Corner
• Grandfamlies and Kinship Support Network (led by Generations United)

Other Resources

• Alzheimer’s Association and Dementia Caregiver Center
• ARCH National Respite Network
• Caregiver Action Network
• Family Caregiver Alliance
• Generations United
• Lifespan Respite Care Program
• National Alliance for Caregiving
• National Caregiver Support Collaborative
• National Family Caregiver Support Program
• National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers

  

^{i AARP and NAC (2020). Caregiving in the U.S. 2020.
ii The Annie E. Casey Foundation (2021-2023). Accessed September 2024. Kids Count Data Center: Children in kinship care in the United States.
iii U.S. Administration for Community Living (2014). National Family Caregiver Support Program.
iv www.aarp.org/caregiving/financial-legal/info-2023/unpaid-caregivers-provide-billions-in-care.html
v www.caregiver.org/resource/caregiver-statistics-demographics/}