About the Act on RAISE Campaign
The Act on RAISE campaign – powered by the National Alliance for Caregiving – is focused on driving implementation of the actions outlined in the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers (National Strategy). The campaign brings together stakeholders across the caregiving continuum (aging groups, patient advocacy groups, disability groups, and caregiving groups) to strengthen our nation’s first-ever National Strategy to support America’s 53 million family caregivers. The campaign is focused on the following pillars:
- Mobilize and align stakeholders across the caregiving continuum around priorities and advocacy opportunities in support of the National Strategy.
- Educate policymakers about the actions outlined in the National Strategy and opportunities for implementation.
- Raise awareness of the far-reaching impacts of caregiving on families, communities, and the economy.
Our Goals
- Accelerate the implementation of the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers.
- Strengthen federal-level coordination needed to support America’s 53 million family caregivers as envisioned in the RAISE Family Caregivers Act.
Steering Committee
The Act on RAISE campaign is advised by a Steering Committee including leading national organizations representing a wide range of sectors that are working shoulder-to-shoulder to support unpaid family caregivers.
What is the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers?
The National Strategy represents the first time a broad cross-section of the federal government has collaborated with the private sector on a response to the longstanding national need for a comprehensive system of family caregiver support. The National Strategy includes nearly 350 actions the federal government can 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 national infrastructure that ensures family caregivers have the resources they need to maintain their own health, well-being, and financial security while providing crucial support for others.
The National Strategy, led by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), was developed jointly by the advisory councils created by the RAISE Family Caregiving Act and the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act, with extensive input from the public, including family caregivers and the people they support. The National Strategy is the product of comprehensive analysis and input from a federally appointed Advisory Council, 15 federal agencies, and more than 150 organizations representing a range of stakeholders from across the nation.
Why do we need a campaign?
According to NAC and AARP’s national survey Caregiving in the U.S. 2020, more than 1 in 5 people in the United States is caring for a family member, friend, or neighbor with a healthcare need or functional disability. Family caregivers report an increasing strain in meeting the medical and economic needs of their care recipients; seven in 10 do so with no paid help. Without adequate and affordable services and support, the escalating demands on family caregivers will contribute to physical, emotional, and financial strain on this essential, yet often invisible workforce.
Although the National Strategy outlines hundreds of actions that federal legislative and regulatory bodies can take to provide relief to family caregivers, the RAISE process stops short of resourcing these actions and of setting time-bound and measurable goals related to implementation. The national strategy needs champions to heighten the visibility of family caregiving across federal agencies, drive accountability around the implementation of the strategy, inform prioritization of actions, and to strengthen our federal response to family caregiving.
How does the campaign seek to affect real change?
The Act on RAISE campaign will accelerate the National Strategy implementation efforts by:
- Systematically working with federal policymakers, agency leadership, and administration officials to ensure the timely implementation the national strategy, ensuring transparency and accountability.
- Creating a space for information sharing and coordination among caregiving, healthcare, patient advocacy, aging, and disability groups around the national strategy.
Who is funding this campaign?
The Act on RAISE campaign is supported by a cornerstone investment from The John A. Hartford Foundation, a grant from Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, and the support of NAC members.
