2025 Innovations in Caregiver Services and Supports Virtual Summit

                               
The 2025 Innovations in Caregiver Services and Supports Virtual Summit, took place on September 18, 2025, from 1:00 to 4:00 PM ET. This summit, hosted by USAging, brought together caregiving leaders, innovators and advocates from across the aging and caregiving sectors for an interactive half-day event.
 

Agenda

1:00 PM: Welcome and Opening Remarks

• Sandy Markwood, CEO, USAging
• Mary Lazare, Acting Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging, Administration for Community Living
• Meredith Hanley, Program Director, USAging

1:15 PM: Spotlight on New Caregiving Data from the National AAA Survey
New results from the 2025 National Area Agency on Aging (AAA) survey will be released, including new data on how AAAs are serving family caregivers across the country.

• Traci Wilson, Research Director, USAging

1:35 PM: Innovations in Family Caregiver Services and Supports
This session showcased three examples of innovative family caregiver programs. These programs assist individuals with dementia and their caregivers, support kinship caregivers and highlight partnerships with a healthcare provider to better support family caregivers.

• Moderator: Cara Goldstein, Assistant Director for Caregiving, USAging
  • Jim Mangi, Chair, Dementia Friendly Services, Saline, Michigan
  • Alyssa Craven, Director of GRANDfamilies, Children’s Service Society of Utah
  • Theresa Niewiadomski, Certified Caregiver Consultant, Direction Home, Akron Canton

2:25 PM: Break-Out Rooms: Caregiving Action Guide Snapshots
This interactive part of the summit showcased newly released Action Guides focused on family caregiving and the intersection with the topics below. Each break-out room will also facilitate discussions on innovative caregiver services and supports.

• Person and Family-Centered, Trauma-Informed Care - Jewish Federations of North America
• Respite Care - ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center
• Education, Counseling and Peer Supports - USAging
• Whole Person Health - National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs
• Volunteer-Driven Programs - USAging
• Emergency Response, Planning and Preparedness - The Carter Center
• Future Care/Long-Term Services and Supports - Family Caregiver Alliance
• Kinship Care - Generations United
• State-Level Discussion on Innovative Caregiver Services and Supports - ADvancing States

2:45 PM: Break

2:55 PM: Results from New Caregiving Study and Impact on Caregiver Services and Supports
In this keynote session, the National Alliance for Caregiving’s CEO, discussed the recently released 2025 Caregiving in the U.S. report. He addressed the current landscape of caregiving and the report’s impact on services and supports for family caregivers.

• Jason Resendez, CEO, National Alliance for Caregiving

3:20 PM: Innovations in Caregiver Identification Methods and Navigation Services
This panel featured two presentations focused on assisting family caregivers to access the right service at the right time. Attendees learned about Community Catalyst’s Caregiver Outreach and Awareness project and USAging’s Caregiver Navigation Services project. The presentations emphasized current innovations aimed at better identifying caregivers and assisting them in navigating available services and supports.

• Moderator: Cara Goldstein, Assistant Director for Caregiving, USAging
  • Siena Ruggeri, Community Engagement Consultant, Community Catalyst
  • Zachary Trammel, Program Manager, USAging

3:55 PM: Future Directions and Opportunities for Engagement
Attendees learned how to access USAging’s Innovations in Family Caregiving project resources and ways to continue to connect with Aging Network professionals in the family caregiving community.

• Clairedine Senat, Senior Program Manager, USAging

4:00 PM: Wrap-Up and Adjourn

• Meredith Hanley, Program Director, USAging