Update: The Caregivers Strategy is open for public comment for 60 days beginning on October 1 and input is requested by November 30. The public comments will be used to inform the ongoing work of the Family Caregiving Advisory Council and the Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, as well as to inform future updates to the Strategy.

On September 21, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Administration for Community Living (ACL), released the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers (Caregivers Strategy). The report represents the first time a broad cross-section of the federal government has collaborated with the private sector on a response to the longstanding national need for a comprehensive system of family caregiver support. The Caregivers Strategy was developed jointly by the Advisory Councils established by the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act and the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (SGRG) Act and is the product of comprehensive analysis and input from 15 federal agencies and more than 150 organizations representing a range of stakeholders from across the nation, including the National Association of Counties (NACo) and several county government agencies.

The Caregivers Strategy highlights nearly 350 actions the federal government will take to support family caregivers in the coming year and more than 150 actions that can be adopted by intergovernmental partners (including counties) and across the private sector to build a system to support family caregivers. The Advisory Councils outlined a series of approaches to achieving key outcomes in support of five goals overall goals of the Strategy:

1. Achieving greater awareness of and outreach to family caregivers
2. Advancing partnerships and engagement with family caregivers
3. Strengthening services and supports for family caregivers
4. Improving financial and workplace security for family caregivers
5. More data, research and evidence-based practices to support family caregivers

To learn more about recommended federal, state and local action to support family caregivers, read the full National Strategy here.

Millions of county residents provide informal, often unpaid, care and support to aging family members and people with disabilities. In 2019, at least 2.7 million grandparents carried the primary responsibility for caring for grandchildren whose parents were unable to do so.

Counties urge increased support and incentives for informal caregivers and applaud our federal partners for releasing this set of recommendations. We urge federal and state action that will help us provide the resources needed to maintain caregiver health, well-being and financial security as they provide crucial life-sustaining support for our most vulnerable residents.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• NACo Report: The County Human Services and Education Landscape
• NACo Blog: House introduces bill that would increase resources for veteran and military caregivers 
• NACo Blog: U.S. House of Representatives request GAO study on caregiving youth
• NACo Policy Brief: Support the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF)
• NACo Policy Brief: Reauthorize and Fully Fund the Older Americans Act (OAA)