What is the National Family Caregiver Support Program?
The National Family Caregiver Support Program is federal Older Americans Act funding that pays your local Area Agency on Aging to support unpaid family caregivers with counseling, training, support groups, help finding services, and respite care so the caregiver can rest.
What this means
- It supports the caregiver, not only the person receiving care, and it has no strict income test in most places.
- Respite care means someone else stays with your family member for a few hours or a few days so you can sleep, work or go to your own appointments.
- It also serves grandparents and other older relatives raising children.
- It does not pay a family member a wage. Paying a family caregiver runs through Medicaid self-directed care instead.
What to do first
- Call the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 and ask for caregiver support services at your Area Agency on Aging.
- Ask specifically for respite hours, a caregiver support group, and any supplemental services fund for supplies.
- Ask about training on transfers and safe lifting, which prevents injuries to both of you.
- If your family member has dementia, ask whether any local provider participates in the GUIDE model.
Meals on Wheels and Your Area Agency on Aging
Hot meals delivered to the door, and one local office that knows every other program in your county.
National Family Caregiver Support Program
Respite, training, counseling, and sometimes small grants for the family member doing the caring.
GUIDE Model for Dementia Care
A Medicare program for people with dementia that assigns a care navigator and pays for respite.
What you'll need
- Usually nothing beyond a phone assessment
- Nothing in most places; some ask for proof of age and address
- Medicare card
- Documentation of the dementia diagnosis
Deadlines and timing
- Respite funds are limited and are often distributed first come, first served during the agency's program year.
- Some agencies cap respite hours per family per year, so plan how you use them.
Where to go
- Meals on Wheels and Your Area Agency on Aging: https://eldercare.acl.gov/Public/Index.aspx
- National Family Caregiver Support Program: https://eldercare.acl.gov/Public/Index.aspx
- GUIDE Model for Dementia Care: https://www.cms.gov/priorities/innovation/innovation-models/guide
Reviewed by Jason Burns, Editorial Steward · Last verified August 25, 2026
Sources
- National Family Caregiver Support Program · Administration for Community Living
Every program on this site is free to apply for. Anyone who asks you to pay to apply, or to “unlock” a government benefit, is a scam — hang up and call Senior Medicare Patrol or 211.
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