- About the RAISE Act
The RAISE Family Caregiver Resource and Dissemination Center
The RAISE Family Caregiver Resource and Dissemination Center

The RAISE Act Family Caregiver Resource and Dissemination Center
Across the nation, state health programs depend on caregivers who provide critical support to help relatives, friends, and neighbors age in place while contributing about $470 billion in unpaid health care services each year. To better support family caregivers, Congress passed the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act in 2018, which established the Family Caregiving Advisory Council tasked with creating the country’s first national Family Caregiver Strategy.
To support the council’s work, NASHP has created the RAISE Act Family Caregiver Resource and Dissemination Center with support from The John A. Hartford Foundation to:
- Develop family caregiving resources for state and federal policymakers and other stakeholders;
- Provide support to the council and its subcommittee member as they craft policy recommendations;
- Convene experts and thought leaders to provide perspectives and expertise to the council; and
- Support states as they develop policies to address family caregiver issues.
The Family Caregiving Advisory Council
The impact of the nation’s aging population on state budgets and policies cannot be addressed without understanding the needs of family caregivers. Under the RAISE Act, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services must develop a national Family Caregiving Strategy that recommends actions that different stakeholders can take to support family caregivers and meets their diverse needs. The RAISE Act also requires the secretary to convene a Family Caregiving Advisory Council to help inform and shape the strategy by providing recommendations to the secretary.
The council is charged with preparing a report for the secretary that includes effective models of family caregiving and support to family caregivers, as well as opportunities to improve coordination across federal government programs. The secretary will incorporate the council’s report in the strategy, in addition to identifying best practices and other information to support family caregivers. The RAISE Act requires the council to be made up of to 15 voting members who reflect the diversity of family caregivers and care recipients, as well as non-voting representatives from federal departments and agencies who play a role in this issue.
Council Meeting Materials and Resources
In August 2019, the council convened for its first meeting and members shared their guiding values and principles. Read the Family Caregiving Advisory Council Meeting Report for a comprehensive description of the meeting. Review the agenda for the day, which includes the PowerPoint presentations used by presenters during the meeting, and watch the full video of the council’s kick-off meeting.
State Resources
State Policy Innovations to Support Family Caregivers: States are developing new initiatives to support family caregivers, who provide nearly $470 billion in unpaid health care support and services each year to relatives, friends, and neighbors. Passage of the federal Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage Family Caregivers (RAISE) Act underscores the urgent attention this issue requires. This blog, State Policy Innovations to Support Family Caregivers, written with support from The John A. Hartford Foundation, explores Hawaii, Washington, and Minnesota’s innovative efforts to assist family caregivers.
Faculty
Laura Gitlin, PhD
Dean, College of Nursing and Health Professions
Drexel University
Kathleen Kelly, MPA
Executive Director
Family Caregiver Alliance
Patti Killingsworth
Assistant Commissioner and Chief
TennCare Long-Term Services and Supports
Sandy Markwood
Chief Executive Officer
N4A
Duane Mayes
Director
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development
Jenna McDavid
National Managing Coordinator
Diverse Elders Coalition
Susan Reinhard, RN, PhD, FAAN
Senior Vice President and Director
AARP Public Policy Institute
David Reuben, MD
Director, Multi-campus Program in Geriatrics Medicine and Gerontology
Chief, Division of Geriatrics,
University of California, Los Angeles
Dave Richard
Deputy Secretary
North Carolina Medicaid
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
Mary Sowers
Executive Director
National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services
C. Grace Whiting, JD
President and CEO
National Alliance for Caregiving
Jennifer Wolff, PhD
Eugene and Mildred Lipitz Professor and Director
Roger C. Lipitz Center for Integrated Health Care
Johns Hopkins University
For more information, contact Eliza Mette.
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