Program
Support for family caregivers (through your local aging office)
Free training, counseling, breaks and sometimes small payments for family members caring for an older person.
What it can pay for
- respite care
- adult day care
- Official name
- National Family Caregiver Support Program (OAA Title III-E)
- Where
- Nationwide
- Status
- Program running
- About the amount
- No federal dollar cap per family; states/AAAs set unit/episode/dollar limits. FY26 Title III-E funding $209.0M nationally; about 779,000 caregivers served nationally in 2021 (secondary figure).
- Housing rules
- The care recipient's own AAA area generally governs; long-distance caregivers can still get information/counseling.
- How long it takes
- Info/referral often immediate; respite/supplemental services immediate if funds remain, else waitlisted.
- How to apply
- Call Eldercare Locator 1-800-677-1116 and ask for the 'family caregiver support program' or 'caregiver respite'; expect a caregiver assessment plus an ADL assessment of the care recipient. (The applicant is the caregiver, not the older person.)
- Does not pay for
- NOT a wage program — does not pay the family caregiver for ongoing care. For paid-family-caregiver routes see Medicaid waiver self-direction or VA PCAFC.
- Official source
- ecfr.gov
- Last checked
- September 28, 2026