Congressional Laws Provide Resources to Support Family Caregivers

Approximately 70% of adults aged ≥65 years will need some type of long-term care services, including unpaid care from relatives, friends, or partners. More than 53 million American adults provide upwards of $500 billion in unpaid health care as family caregivers. In 2018, Congress enacted two laws supporting family caregiving: the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act and the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (SGRG) Act, directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a national caregiving strategy. Advisory Councils for these two acts developed a total of 48 recommendations as the foundation for this strategy. Resources collected to inform these recommendations are now catalogued and publicly available. This opportunity for gerontological nurses to gain additional knowledge and access to services to support family caregivers and grandparents raising grandchildren will advance their work in assessing, documenting, and coordinating care for family caregivers and care recipients. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 48(9), 5-7.].