Florida Reps. Lois Frankel (D) and María Elvira Salazar (R) have collaborated on a resolution recognizing November 11-17th, 2024 as National Caregiving Youth Week. Introducing the resolution alongside California Rep. Barbara Lee (D), the resolution honors the commitment and contributions of youth under 18 who provide essential care for their loved ones.
Caregiving youths, which are classified as children or adolescents under the age of 18, serve as primary or secondary caregivers for family or household members who face a number of challenges such as aging, chronic illnesses, disabilities, frailties, or other health conditions that require regular assistance.
There are 0ver 5 million estimated caregiving youths nationwide.
The bipartisan resolution does the following:
- Supports the designation of National Caregiving Youth Week;
- Recognizes caregiving youth in the United States as an underserved and underrecognized population;
- Encourages educators, policymakers, health care professionals, and others to become more familiar with the work, needs, and contributions of caregiving youth; and
- Supports Federal initiatives to provide up-to-date nationwide research on caregiving youth.
In a statement, Rep. Frankel detailed that "all over the country, there are young people who set aside their own needs - studying, extracurricular activities, and time with their friends - to serve as caregivers for members of their family who may be elderly, ill, or disabled."
The American Association of Caregiving Youth (AACY) supports the resolution, and in a statement, President and Founder of the AACY Connie Siskowski shared just how important caregiving youths are.
“More than 5.4 million caregiving youth in the U.S. remain largely invisible, balancing school and life while quietly providing essential care to ill, injured, elderly, and/or disabled family members,” she said in her statement.
“Most people don’t realize the challenging and difficult roles these children are taking on through no fault of their own. They deserve and need formal support and accommodation within systems of education and healthcare. No child should feel alone in this journey as they strive to succeed academically and personally,” Siskowski detailed.
