NASHP, supported by The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, invites state applications for participation in its 18-month Caregiving State Policy Learning Collaborative beginning January 2025 and ending June 2026. NASHP will select up to 16 states to participate in the learning collaborative.
Participating states will share best practices and opportunities to strengthen policies and strategies to improve family caregiver policy, building upon action steps in the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers. States will also learn from subject matter experts from:
- The NASHP RAISE Act Family Caregiver Implementation and Technical Assistance Center Faculty, a group of subject matter experts in family caregiving regularly convened by NASHP
- The ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center, Respite Care Association of Wisconsin, and Ujima United— three organizations with extensive experience in supporting the development of and access to respite networks and respite provider training
- The National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC), a nonprofit coalition of organizations with experience in supporting family caregiving policy through research and grassroots efforts
- PHI, a direct care workforce policy research organization drawing on almost 30 years of experience
- ADvancing States, a nonprofit national association representing state aging and disability agencies
The collaborative will focus on state family caregiving policy, reform, and/or guidance in alignment with the five goals of the 2022 National Strategy, with the aim of improving supports for family caregivers, direct care workers, and the people for whom they provide care. Topics may include but are not limited to:
- Enhancing family caregiver training, outreach, and awareness of services
- Paying family caregivers through self-direction
- Assessing and deciding whether to make pandemic-related policies permanent
- Increasing access to home- and community-based services such as respite care, respite recruitment, retention, and training
- Understanding the array of family caregiving assessment tools and evidence-informed programs, particularly for dementia caregivers
- Exploring Structured Family Caregiving programs
- Addressing state policies of the recruitment, training, and retention of the direct care workforce
- Strengthening federal and state partnerships to support family caregivers
Best practices and lessons learned from the collaborative will be published as part of an implementation guide for states.
What’s in it for states? The learning collaborative will provide state leaders with opportunities for peer discussion, problem-solving, collaboration, and access to subject matter experts in family caregiving policy. The participating states will be invited to participate in an in-person state-federal dialogue in Washington, D.C., as part of the learning collaborative. Site visits will be available upon request for up to five states to further advance uptake and implementation of the National Strategy. States will also have the opportunity to provide ongoing feedback to NASHP that will inform a state implementation guide of action steps in line with the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers.
Team composition: State applications may include a team of up to four members. Teams must include an aging state agency official and a Medicaid state official. At least one of these state officials must have decision-making authority within their agency. The team may include additional state staff and individuals who can directly support team goals (e.g., legislators or legislative staff, governor’s health policy staff, aging and family caregiver advocacy leaders, state taskforce members, etc.).
To apply to NASHP’s Family Caregiving State Learning Collaborative, please complete the online application.
Application opens: October 1, 2024
Applications due: 5 p.m. ET November 1, 2024
Selected states notified: November 20, 2024
Learning Collaborative begins: January 7, 2025
NASHP’s Caregiving State Policy Learning Collaborative will convene up to 16 states interested in advancing supports for family caregivers of older adults and people with disabilities. NASHP’s role is to assist states with connecting to peers and experts, sharing strategies and solutions, and providing insights and best practices for state leaders who seek to support older adults and their family caregivers.
Over the course of the 18-month learning collaborative, states will:
- Learn about state policy strategies to support family caregivers of older adults and people with disabilities through bimonthly peer-to-peer calls with state leaders and subject matter experts
- Participate in an in-person state-federal dialogue in Washington, D.C, with states and federal agencies responsible for caregiving programs and policies
Develop strategies and plans for their states to carry out action steps in line with the five goals of the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers
Application Requirements
Team composition: State applicants should identify a core team of up to four members to participate in the learning collaborative, including an aging state agency official and a Medicaid state official, who can implement the state’s specific goals and project activities. At least one of them should have decision-making authority within their agency. Either the aging or the Medicaid leader can be the team lead. The team lead will provide overall leadership and serve as the primary point of contact. Additional members may include other state staff or legislators/legislative staff, or representatives from aging and family caregiver advocacy organizations, community-based organizations, providers, or other key organizations that can support the state’s goals. The learning collaborative activities will include:
- Development of a state work plan to support key state priorities
- Bimonthly virtual state team meetings and peer-to-peer learning opportunities with subject matter experts and with state leaders in family caregiving policy
- Attendance and participation in an in-person convening in Washington, D.C.
- Individualized technical assistance
- Site visits for up to five states, upon request and based on available funds
State goals: Applicants should describe specific and measurable policy goals and a realistic timeline and activities to achieve these goals. Strong candidates will demonstrate foundational planning and policy changes to address family caregiving policy (e.g., a taskforce, legislation, policy planning, etc.).
Use of resources: Applicants should describe how they would use technical assistance provided to make progress on their goals within the learning collaborative and after completion. Applicants should describe what specific expertise, technical support, and other resources would be helpful in making progress in their state.
Submission: To apply to NASHP’s Caregiving State Policy Learning Collaborative, please complete this brief application by 5 p.m. ET November 1, 2024.
NASHP will notify each state of the status of its application no later than November 20, 2024. For questions or inquiries, please contact Salom Teshale (steshale@nashp.org) or Holly Stockdale (hstockdale@nashp.org).
About NASHP
NASHP is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to be of, by, and for all states by providing nonpartisan support for the development of policies that promote and sustain healthy people and communities and advance high quality, affordable health care. NASHP accomplishes its mission and vision through the following methods:
- Advances innovation by supporting states in the development of new policies and programs
- Surfaces and supports the implementation and spread of best practices by engaging states to inform data-driven policy-making at the state and federal level
- Ensures states have the information, data, and tools to successfully design and implement policy
- Encourages sustainable cross-sector solutions by strengthening partnerships across state agencies and executive and legislative branches and the private sector
- Elevates the state perspective for a wide range of groups, partners, and the public
The NASHP Caregiving State Policy Learning Collaborative builds on and incorporates NASHP’s extensive work in family caregiving policy, including five years of operating the RAISE Act Family Caregiver Implementation and Technical Assistance Center as well as:
- NASHP’s 2024 Respite Summit and resources developed with the ARCH National Respite Network and Resource Center
- SupportCaregiving.org resource guides for state policymakers and a wide range of organizations
- NASHP’s 2021–2022 RAISE Act State Family Caregiving Institute, a policy academy for six states
- NASHP’s work with the Administration for Community Living (ACL)’s National Caregiver Support Collaborative and with ADvancing States’ Cross-State Caregiving Collaborative.
For more information on NASHP’s work in family caregiving, please visit raisefamilycaregiving.org.
This learning collaborative is supported by The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation.
