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The Family Caregiving Compendium, developed by the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health and the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston, is an interactive, searchable resource tracking federal legislative and policy proposals introduced over the past decade to support America's 63 million family caregivers. Designed to organize and compare non-passed federal proposals, the compendium categorizes initiatives across five key domains: expanding and enhancing caregiver programs (such as Medicaid, Medicare, and the Older Americans Act), providing financial supports like tax credits and stipends, delivering training and education, establishing workplace supports such as paid leave, and implementing other cross-cutting policy approaches to strengthen the long-term services and supports (LTSS) system.



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The direct care workforce in the United States experienced rapid growth over the past decade, adding nearly 1.8 million jobs to reach almost 5.4 million workers, driven primarily by a rapidly aging national population. Despite this expansion and projections that direct care will generate more new jobs than any other single occupation over the next decade, workers continue to face severe economic instability. In 2024, the median hourly wage stood at just $17.36 with median annual earnings under $26,000, leaving more than a third of the workforce in low-income households and nearly half relying on public assistance. Composed overwhelmingly of women, people of color, and immigrants, this essential workforce now faces heightened recruitment and retention risks due to emerging federal policy changes, including Medicaid funding cuts, shifting immigration rules, and weakened labor protections.



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Get Free Training On Caregiving for Adults with IDD-MH Needs


Limited availability! See if you qualify.


Direct caregiving is one of the most rewarding ways to give back. But it’s also one of the most difficult. Plus, there is even more to know and understand when providing direct care to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and mental health (IDD-MH) needs.

That’s why the Direct Care Worker Training Subcommittee has partnered with the Certified Direct Care Professional (CDCP) training program to create modules related to IDD-MH. The training course for adults with IDD-MH needs is self-paced, online, and free. Availability is limited.

About the training course


What it covers

  • An overview of various IDD and mental health disorders
  • Strategies for effective communication and crisis prevention
  • How mental health disorders present in adults with developmental disabilities
  • Medical diagnoses and health conditions connected to IDD and how they affect mood and behavior

Who should take it

  • Family members
  • Paid caregivers

Where to access it

  • Online through UW-Green Bay
  • Available 24/7 (no designated class times)

How long it takes

  • Self-paced
  • Up to eight hours

Claim your spot!


Fill out the screening form to see if you qualify to take the course.

See if I can take the course


To qualify, you must:

  • Be a caregiver or employ caregivers of adults with IDD-MH needs enrolled in a Wisconsin Medicaid program.
  • Have or are willing to create an online Canvas account with UW-Green Bay.
  • Be willing to devote eight hours to the online training course by December 31, 2026.

Background


This online training course is the result of work completed by the Direct Care Worker Training Subcommittee, as part of Wisconsin IDD-MH System Improvement. The course is one module within the CDCP training program, which is a free, professional workforce advancement program that aims to increase the number of caregivers working in home and community-based settings.

The subcommittee is also working on a module for caregivers of children with IDD-MH needs. We will share more information about the child-related course soon.

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The Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities (BPDD) and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) want to strengthen their partnerships with Wisconsin’s underreached communities, including communities of color and communities who speak Spanish or Hmong, to better support families who have school-aged children with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

We are offering two grant options. You can only apply for one. Both options aim to launch or expand efforts to support children with disabilities and families. Activities might include bringing families together for workshops, resource-sharing, and individual support.

Grant Option 1:

  • We will award up to (8) grants of up to $20,000 each.
  • If your organization will mostly serve local families, apply for this option.

Grant Option 2:

  • We will award up to one (1) grant of up to $40,000.
  • If your organization will mostly serve geographically dispersed families, apply for this option. 
  • The additional funds will be used to cover costs for overnights, day-long retreats, and transportation that allow families who live around the state to gather.
  • Applications are due October 9, 2026, by 5:00pm.
Families Supporting Families
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Between late 2025 and mid-2026, Wisconsin’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation faced a severe funding shortfall after state budget allocations fell short of recommended amounts and federal matching requirements, creating a waitlist of over 7,600 disabled job seekers. Although the agency provides critical employment services, assistive technology, and guidance necessary to navigate life-sustaining benefits such as Medicaid and personal caregiving, candidates were forced to wait months for assistance, causing many to lose out on timely job and internship opportunities. While emergency state and federal reallotment funds were eventually secured to hire staff and process individuals off the list, the backlog persists, highlighting broader systemic risks to the economic independence and healthcare coverage of people with disabilities when state programs are underfunded.



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Call for Nominations: Caregiving Advisory Council Members

Submissions due Wednesday, October 14, 2026
ACL is pleased to announce the publication of Federal Register Notices to seek nominations for two family caregiving-related advisory councils. 

RAISE Act Family Caregiving Advisory Council 

Authorized by the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage Family (RAISE) Caregivers Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-119), the RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council will support the implementation of the update to the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers that is slated to be released later this year. Implementation efforts will include new developments, challenges, opportunities, and solutions to better recognize and support family caregivers, along with recommendations to build upon the accomplishments of the National Family Caregiving Strategy in future reports.  Up to 15 non-federal voting members from the following groups will be appointed for three-year terms: family caregivers; older adults who need long-term services and supports; individuals with disabilities; healthcare and social service providers; providers of long-term services and supports; employers; paraprofessional workers; state and local officials; accreditation bodies; veterans; and as appropriate, other experts and advocates engaged in family caregiving. Those selected to serve on the Advisory Council will reflect the wide range of experiences of family caregivers and care recipients.
To be considered for selection, nominations must include all requested information and attachments and be submitted electronically to RAISE.mail@acl.hhs.gov by 11:59 p.m. ET on October 14, 2026.
 
View RAISE Federal Register Notice

Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

The Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (SGRG) is authorized by the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-196). The Advisory Council will support the preparation of updates to the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers that is slated to be released later this year. Specifically, the Advisory Council will focus on areas pertaining to grandparents and older relative (kinship) caregiver support while also creating and augmenting ACL-related tools within the kinship caregiving arena. The Advisory Council also serves as the primary panel that informs the work of the Grandfamilies and Kinship Support Network: A National Technical Assistance Center. 
ACL anticipates selecting up to 10 non-federal members to serve on the Advisory Council. These members will include grandparents, older relative/kinship caregivers, and professionals working on their behalf, with particular emphasis on individuals representing tribal communities and families impacted by the opioid crisis. 
To be considered for selection, nominations must include all requested information and attachments and be submitted electronically to SGRG.mail@acl.hhs.gov by 11:59 p.m. ET on October 14, 2026. 
View SGRG Federal Register Notice
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Eighteen state governors sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Todd W. Blanche calling on the Department of Justice to abandon efforts that could weaken access to community-based services for people with disabilities. Organized by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, the bipartisan coalition expressed opposition to a Justice Department memo questioning established interpretations of the landmark 1999 Olmstead v. L.C. Supreme Court decision, which protects individuals with disabilities from unnecessary institutional segregation. Prompted by disability rights advocates, the governors urged the federal government to preserve community integration, emphasizing that access to housing, employment, and civic participation in integrated settings remains essential for people with disabilities.



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This interview explores the journey of living with progressive blindness and transitioning into a dedicated disability rights advocate. The discussion highlights the pervasive accessibility barriers present in everyday environments, from poorly designed public websites to physical obstacles like vehicles blocking crosswalks. To make advocacy more engaging and accessible for adults, the advocate created an educational cartoon series featuring a guide dog to address serious accessibility violations and societal misconceptions through humor. Ultimately, the conversation underscores the importance of building empathy, recognizing disability as an ordinary part of the human condition, and relieving individuals with disabilities from the burden of having to constantly fight for basic accessibility rights.



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The upcoming film Being Heumann marks a major milestone for authentic disability representation on screen by casting British actress Ruth Madeley, who has spina bifida, to play disability rights activist Judith Heumann, alongside screenplay co-writer Rebekah Taussig, who is also a disabled activist. As highlighted in the article, Hollywood narratives have historically relied on non-disabled actors "cripping up" or framed disabled lives as tragic or purely inspirational, which can perpetuate harmful stereotypes and oversimplify the disabled experience. By involving creators with lived experience in front of and behind the camera, the film promises a genuine, nuanced depiction of Heumann and the historic 1970s American disability rights movement.



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Home- and community-based services (HCBS) help older adults and people with disabilities live in their own homes and communities, yet the term lacks a shared definition. The SCAN Foundation and the Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) reviewed 229 definitions to build a payer-neutral consensus definition—one intentionally grounded in choice, autonomy, and self-direction. The authors argue common language can help measure what works and hold programs accountable, though it alone won't fix workforce shortages or funding gaps.

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