caregiving.org

The National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) advocates by combining research, coalition-building, and direct engagement with federal rulemaking and legislation. Its policy work shows up in four main forms: formal comments on proposed federal rules, public statements and endorsements of legislation, coalition partnerships such as the Caregiver Nation Coalition, and policy briefs and reports that translate caregiver data into recommendations for decision-makers. This explainer covers each channel, using NAC's own published activity as the reference point.

Commenting on Federal Rules

When a federal agency proposes a rule, it opens a public comment period. NAC uses that window to submit formal responses on behalf of family caregivers.

A documented example is its response to the CY 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule, released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). NAC and the Caregiver Nation Coalition responded jointly — a signal that the comment was coordinated across multiple organizations rather than filed by NAC alone.

How this works as an advocacy mechanism:

1. Input: CMS publishes a proposed rule in the Federal Register and invites public comments.
2. Action: NAC reviews the provisions that touch caregivers — payment for care coordination, training, or services delivered in home settings — and files a written response, often with coalition partners.
3. Expected result: The comment becomes part of the administrative record. Agencies are not obligated to adopt the recommendations, but they must consider substantive comments, and organized responses can shape final language.

Common sticking point: Comment periods are fixed and short. Organizations that want to influence a rule have to track proposed rules continuously rather than react after the deadline.

Responding to and Pushing Legislation

NAC's legislative advocacy is visible in its public statements on bills moving through Congress. Two examples from its published posts:

• Older Americans Act reauthorization: NAC applauded the Senate's passage of S.2120, the Older Americans Act Reauthorization, on the law's 61st anniversary, and publicly urged the House to finish the process. The organization also published a policy brief titled The Older Americans Act: Supporting Family Caregivers to explain what the law does for caregivers.
• Appropriations and funding: After the Senate passed a Continuing Resolution, NAC issued a statement welcoming the secured funding while arguing that more is needed for family caregivers — a position that pairs acknowledgment of a legislative outcome with a specific ask for the next round.

What to take from this pattern: NAC rarely stops at "support" or "oppose." Its statements typically name the bill or resolution, state what passed, and then state what still needs to happen. That structure is what makes a statement usable by decision-makers and by caregivers who want to echo the ask.

Building and Working Through Coalitions

NAC does not advocate alone. The Caregiver Nation Coalition is the clearest example in its published activity: the coalition co-signed the response to the CY 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule, and NAC references the coalition as a vehicle for collective positions.

Coalitions matter for a practical reason. A single organization's comment carries some weight; a coalition representing many caregiver-serving groups carries more, and it reduces the risk that agencies dismiss a position as one group's preference.

If you are evaluating whether to join or follow a coalition's work, check:

Translating Research into Policy Arguments

NAC's advocacy rests on its own data. Its published resources include the Caregiving in the US Data Hub and Caregiving in the US 2025: Caring Across States & State Data Profiles, alongside reports such as Trends in Innovation: Implementing and Refining Caregiving Training Services in Medicare.

The function of these products in advocacy is to give policymakers a number and a geography. A state-level data profile lets a legislator see how many caregivers live in their state; a Medicare training report gives an agency evidence about how a service is actually being delivered. Without that, caregiver needs tend to be described only anecdotally.

NAC also frames its mission explicitly this way: translating "the lived experience of family caregivers into policy, system, and culture change." The Portraits of Caregiving section — profiles of individual caregivers such as Abena, Maggie, Myra, and Allen — serves the same purpose by attaching a person to the statistic.

How to Follow or Participate

If your goal is to track or support this advocacy rather than just understand it:

• Watch the news and blog feed on caregiving.org, where statements on rules and legislation are posted as they happen.
• Register for NAC webinars when the topic matches your interest — recent sessions have covered the cancer-to-transplant caregiving continuum, the dementia diagnosis gap and the ASAP Act, and results from the INCITE caregiver training program.
• Submit a comment yourself during an open federal comment period. NAC's filed comments are a usable template for the structure and the specific provisions worth addressing.
• Subscribe to the newsletter to receive policy updates without checking the site manually.

One caveat worth stating plainly: NAC's published material describes its positions and activities, not the outcome of every ask. A statement applauding a Senate vote is evidence that a bill passed, not evidence that caregiver funding was fully secured — which is exactly why NAC's own statements often pair the win with the remaining gap.

"Portraits of Caregiving" is a section of caregiving.org that features real family caregivers by first name and relationship — Abena (caregiver to her husband), Maggie (caregiver to her husband and son), Myra (caregiver to her husband), and Allen (caregiver to his wife). Its stated purpose is to translate the lived experience of family caregivers into policy, system, and culture change. It is a storytelling and advocacy feature, not a service directory or a place to apply for benefits.

What the section contains

The portraits are deliberately short on detail: no ages, diagnoses, locations, or full biographies are given in the section itself. The emphasis is on the fact of caregiving and the relationship, which keeps the focus on the caregiver's role rather than on a medical case study.

Why the organization frames caregiving this way

The National Alliance for Caregiving describes itself as advancing research, advocacy, and resources that support family caregivers through education, policy leadership, and community engagement. The portraits sit at the front of that chain. A policy brief or a data profile can establish how many caregivers there are and what they need; a portrait establishes who is affected. The section's own framing — translating lived experience into policy, system, and culture change — makes the intended link explicit: personal stories are presented as evidence that supports the organization's research and advocacy positions.

You can see the same pattern in the site's other content. Recent posts include a joint blog post on earlier detection through the ASAP Act, a response to the CY 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule, a statement on Senate Continuing Resolution passage, a piece marking thirty years of making caregivers visible, and a call to action on federally funded research. Each pairs a caregiver-facing consequence with a specific policy mechanism.

How to browse or follow these stories

1. Open caregiving.org and look for the "Portraits of Caregiving" heading, which sits among the featured content blocks.
2. Read the four portraits as a set — they cover spouses caring for spouses and a parent caring for both a husband and a son, so they illustrate more than one caregiving configuration.
3. To see how the stories connect to the organization's work, continue to the announcements and reports listed nearby, such as Caregiving in the US 2025: Caring Across States & State Data Profiles and the Caregiving in the US Data Hub.
4. To follow new material, use the site's newsletter signup, which asks for a name and email. The form states that submitting it constitutes agreement to something, so read the terms before subscribing.
5. For time-sensitive items, check the events listed on the page — for example, sessions on the cancer-to-transplant continuum, the dementia diagnosis gap and the ASAP Act, and initial results from the INCITE training program — each with a date, time in ET, and a registration link.

What this section is not

• It is not a caregiver registry or a matching service; the portraits are published stories, not profiles you can contact.
• It is not a benefits or eligibility tool. For that kind of content, the site points to policy briefs and reports instead.
• It does not publish full identifying details about the featured caregivers, so you should not expect to verify individual circumstances or outcomes from the section alone.

If your goal is to understand how a caregiver's personal account becomes a policy argument, this section is the clearest entry point on the site. If your goal is practical help — finding services, data, or training — the reports, data hub, and event registrations linked from the same page are the more useful destinations.

The National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) at caregiving.org lists upcoming webinars and events directly on its homepage, each with a date, time, and a Register link. If you are a family caregiver, a researcher, or an advocate who wants to attend a session or catch up on past training results, the homepage is the starting point. Registration is handled through the Register link on each event listing; the site does not state a fee or a login requirement for these events, so check the registration page for any conditions before you commit.

What events are currently listed

The homepage shows three upcoming sessions at the time of this snapshot, all in Eastern Time (ET):

Each listing has its own Register link. Note that the dates are not in calendar order on the page, so scan the full list rather than assuming the top item comes first.

How to register and attend

1. Go to caregiving.org and find the "Upcoming" section near the top of the homepage.
2. Read the event title and description to confirm the topic fits your situation — for example, the dementia session is aimed at caregivers navigating diagnosis, while the INCITE session reports on a training program's initial results.
3. Click Register on the event you want. This takes you to the registration form for that session.
4. Complete the form with your name and email. The site's newsletter signup confirms that name and email are the fields NAC collects, and that submitting a form means you agree to their terms.
5. Watch for a confirmation email with the join link. The homepage does not publish the platform (Zoom, Teams, etc.), so the confirmation is where you will learn how to connect.

Expected result: you receive a confirmation and a link to join at the scheduled ET time. If you are outside the Eastern time zone, convert the start time before blocking your calendar.

If you miss a session or want past results

NAC publishes outcomes and follow-ups rather than only live events. The INCITE session, for instance, is framed around "initial results," which means the substance is reported in the session itself. For written follow-up, the Recent Posts section on the homepage carries news, blog, and media items — including policy responses and program updates — that often cover the same topics after an event. The "Load More" button at the bottom of that section reveals older posts.

Related resources worth knowing about

Beyond events, the homepage links to data and policy materials that caregivers and advocates use alongside the webinars:

• Caregiving in the US Data Hub — an announcement link to national caregiving data.
• Caregiving in the US 2025: Caring Across States & State Data Profiles — state-level profiles.
• Policy Brief: The Older Americans Act: Supporting Family Caregivers — background on the main federal caregiver funding law.
• Report: Trends in Innovation: Implementing and Refining Caregiving Training Services in Medicare — relevant if you are evaluating training programs like the one featured in the INCITE session.

The "Portraits of Caregiving" section profiles individual caregivers (Abena, Maggie, Myra, and Allen) caring for a spouse, a spouse and son, or a wife — useful context if you want to see how others describe their experience before joining a session.

Common snags

• Time zone confusion. All listed times are ET. A 1:00 PM ET session is 10:00 AM Pacific.
• Out-of-order dates. The upcoming list is not sorted chronologically, so a later date can appear above an earlier one.
• No published platform. The homepage does not say which tool hosts the webinar; rely on your registration confirmation.
• Registration terms. The site notes that submitting a form constitutes agreement to its terms, so read the form before submitting if that matters to you.

If your goal is simply to attend one relevant session, pick the topic that matches your care situation, register through its link, and convert the ET start time to your local zone. If your goal is to stay current, the Recent Posts feed and the data and policy links above will keep you informed between events.

The National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC), at caregiving.org, is a U.S. nonprofit that advances research, advocacy, and resources for family caregivers. Its site is most useful if you want national or state-level caregiving data, plain-language policy briefs, or free webinars and reports — rather than direct one-on-one caregiving help. The main entry points are the Caregiving in the US Data Hub, state data profiles, policy briefs and reports, and an events calendar with registration links.

Caregiving in the US Data Hub

The Data Hub is the site's central place for national caregiving statistics. It accompanies the Caregiving in the US 2025 study and is presented as an announcement on the homepage ("Caregiving in the US Data Hub — Read More").

Use it when you need citable numbers for a grant application, news story, class project, or advocacy campaign — for example, how many Americans provide care, how much unpaid care they deliver, or how caregiving affects work and finances. Because the hub is tied to a specific study year, check the year label before quoting a figure.

State Data Profiles

Alongside the national study, NAC publishes Caregiving in the US 2025: Caring Across States & State Data Profiles. These profiles break the national picture down by state.

They are the right resource when a national average isn't specific enough — for instance, if you are a state legislator's staffer, a local nonprofit, or a reporter who needs to describe caregivers in one state rather than the whole country. Expect state-level figures on caregiver prevalence and profile; for county or city detail, you would need another source.

Policy Briefs and Reports

The site hosts short policy briefs and longer reports aimed at explaining how laws and programs affect family caregivers. Examples visible on the homepage include:

These are written for a policy-literate audience — advocates, program staff, researchers — and are useful when you need to understand or cite the legal and funding context behind caregiver support, not for step-by-step care instructions.

Events and Webinars

NAC runs free online sessions that you can register for in advance. Upcoming examples listed on the site:

• Your Story Matters: Supporting Family Caregiver in the Cancer-to-Transplant Continuum — October 5, 2:00–3:30 PM ET
• Closing the Dementia Diagnosis Gap: What the ASAP Act Means for Family Caregivers — September 29, 1:00–2:00 PM ET
• Advancing Caregiver Support in Cancer Care: Initial Results from the INCITE Training Program — September 10, 1:00–2:00 PM ET

Each listing has a Register link. These sessions suit caregivers, clinicians, and advocates who want current research or policy explained in plain terms. The homepage shows registration links but does not state whether recordings are posted afterward, so if you cannot attend live, confirm replay availability before relying on it.

News, Blog, and Advocacy Updates

The Recent Posts section mixes news, blog, and media items, typically policy reactions and milestones. Recent examples include a joint post with the Alzheimer's Impact Movement on earlier detection through the ASAP Act, NAC's response to the proposed CY 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule rule, and statements on Older Americans Act reauthorization. This section is best for tracking what is changing in caregiver policy and when public comment or advocacy action is open.

What the Site Is Not

NAC is a research, advocacy, and coalition organization, not a direct service provider. The homepage describes its mission as translating caregivers' lived experience into "policy, system, and culture change." If you need immediate help — respite care, financial assistance, or a local support group — this site is a starting point for context and data, not a service directory. The site also offers a newsletter signup if you want updates delivered rather than checking back manually.

caregiving.org is the website of the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC), a nonprofit organization focused on family caregivers in the United States. Its stated mission is to advance research, advocacy, and resources that support family caregivers through education, policy leadership, and community engagement. If you are a family caregiver, a researcher, a policymaker, or an organization looking for caregiver-related data and policy updates, this site is designed as a hub for those materials.

What the organization does

The NAC describes its work as translating the lived experience of family caregivers into policy, system, and culture change. Its activity falls into a few broad areas:

• Research — producing national studies and data on caregiving, including the "Caregiving in the US" series and state-level data profiles.
• Advocacy — responding to federal rules and legislation, such as Medicare physician fee schedule proposals and reauthorization of the Older Americans Act.
• Education and resources — publishing reports, policy briefs, and training-related findings.
• Community engagement — hosting events and sharing caregiver stories.

Who it is for

The site centers on family caregivers — people caring for a spouse, parent, child, or other relative or friend. The homepage features portraits of caregivers such as Abena (caregiver to her husband), Maggie (caregiver to her husband and son), Myra (caregiver to her husband), and Allen (caregiver to his wife), which illustrates the range of caregiving situations the organization addresses.

Beyond individual caregivers, the content is also relevant to:

• Researchers looking for national caregiving data
• Policymakers and advocates tracking caregiver-related legislation
• Organizations that train or support caregivers

What you can find on the site

The site organizes its output into several content types:

Events are listed with dates and times in ET and include registration links. News and blog posts are dated and cover both organizational statements and policy developments.

How to use the site

1. For data — start with the "Caregiving in the US" data hub and state profiles if you need national or state-level caregiving statistics.
2. For policy context — the policy briefs and news posts explain what specific legislation or rules mean for family caregivers.
3. For events — check the upcoming events section for webinars, which require registration.
4. To stay updated — the site offers a newsletter signup with name and email fields.

The site does not display pricing information, and no payment platforms are referenced, so the resources described appear to be informational rather than paid products.