Update on Family Caregivers

AARP”s Public Policy Institute has released a new report that provides an update on the topic of family caregivers. Valuing the Invaluable 2015 Update: Undeniable Progress, but Big Gaps Remain is 25 pages long and available as a pdf. As the introduction notes:

In 2013, about 40 million family caregivers in the United States provided an estimated 37 billion hours of care to an adult with limitations in daily activities. The estimated economic value of their unpaid contributions  was approximately$470 billion in 2013, up from an estimated $450 billion in 2009.

This report also explains the key challenges facing family caregivers…The report highlights the growing importance of family caregiving on the public policy agenda. It lists key policy developments for family caregivers since the last Valuing the Invaluable report was released in 2011. Finally, the report recommends ways to better recognize and explicitly support caregiving families through public policies, private sector initiatives, and research.

The report reviews progress in policies, programs and services at the federal and state levels since the previous report and makes over 20 policy recommendations in a number of categories.

To both address the growing care gap as the population ages and lessen the strain in the daily lives of caregiving families, more meaningful public policies and private sector initiatives are needed now. Better strategies will assist those who need care and their families struggling to find and afford the supportive services to live in their homes and communities—where they want to stay. It is essential to the well-being of our health care and LTSS systems, our economy, our workplaces, our families, and ourselves.