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  4. Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers

The National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers was delivered to Congress. The Strategy includes nearly 350 actions the federal government will take to support family caregivers and more than 150 actions that can be adopted at other levels of government and across the private sector to begin to build a system that ensures family caregivers – who provide the overwhelming majority of long-term care in the United States– have the resources they need to maintain their own health, well-being, and financial security while providing crucial support for others. The 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, with extensive input from family caregivers, the people they support, and other stakeholders.

Council-Developed Tip Sheets

Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

The number of grandparents and other older relatives who are caring for children is significant and growing, in part due to the opioid crisis. Although caregivers' lives are enhanced by the experience, providing full-time care to children can decrease caregivers' abilities to address their own health and well-being needs. Recognizing that these caregivers would benefit from improved coordination of resources intended to support them, as well as better dissemination of information about those resources, the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act established the Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren.

Full Statute - SGRG Act  

The advisory council's mission is to identify, promote, coordinate, and disseminate information, resources, and best practices to help grandparents and older relative caregivers of children meet the health, educational, nutritional, and other needs of the children in their care while maintaining their own physical, mental, and emotional well-being. As part of this effort, all recommendations will consider the needs of members of Native American tribes and families affected by the opioid crisis. The advisory council will be a leader in identifying and sharing resources to support, educate, empower, and advocate for kinship families and grandfamilies. It will increase awareness and understanding of the needs of these families to ensure they are treated with respect and dignity.

The advisory council will develop a report that includes best practices, resources, and other useful information for grandparents and other older relatives raising children. The council will establish a process for obtaining public input to inform the initial report and subsequent updates. The report will be delivered to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Congress, and state agencies responsible for carrying out family caregiver programs. 

Advisory Council Members

The SGRG Act specifies that the council will include at least one grandparent who is raising a grandchild and at least one older relative caring for children. In addition, it will include representatives from federal departments and agencies who play a role in these issues.

The previous council members' terms concluded in July 2026. The Administration for Community Living is preparing for the next council member nomination process.

Information about nominations will be announced in a future Federal Register Notice and shared through ACL Updates. Please check this page periodically for updates and subscribe to ACL Updates to receive announcements.

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RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council

The RAISE Family Caregivers Act, which became law on Jan. 22, 2018, directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a national family caregiving strategy...

RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council  


Last modified on 07/21/2022


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