NAC founder, Gail Gibson Hunt, had a vision for the future of family caregivers. One in which our nation’s family caregivers were visible, valued, and supported.  

While the nation had begun to examine the need for long-term family caregiving, it had not yet become a topic of national conversation. Yet friends and family were quietly supporting people in their lives with disabilities and health care needs, largely unrecognized in policy, research, or public life. For many, managing complex care at home or in the community with little guidance, little support, and almost no visibility was the norm. 

In 1996, Gail convened five national organizations with one goal to meet the needs of family caregivers in an aging America. Working with USAging, the American Society on Aging, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, GlaxoSmithKline, and the National Council of Aging, the National Alliance for Caregiving was born to change the story of care. Since our founding, NAC has elevated family caregivers as a national priority, including those caring for loved ones with complex or chronic conditions, caregiving youth, and caregivers of color. 

For 30 years, we have translated research into action, helping to secure meaningful progress for family caregivers nationwide. From landmark laws such as the National Family Caregiver Support Program, the Lifespan Respite Care Program, the VA Mission Act, and the RAISE Family Caregivers Act to ongoing efforts to advance paid family and medical leave, NAC has worked to ensure that family caregivers are heard, recognized, and represented where decisions are made. We are, and will always be, at the table ensuring family caregivers have a powerful voice in Washington. 

Today, more than 63 million Americans provide ongoing care to a family member, neighbor, or friend — an estimated $1.01 trillion worth of care each year. Millions of them are doing it while balancing jobs, health challenges, and financial strain. When NAC was founded 30 years ago, this work was largely invisible: caregiving was something families handled quietly, out of view. 

Three decades later, that is no longer the case. Caregiving is now firmly on the national agenda: we are shaping discussions in Congress, influencing health system leaders, and commanding greater attention in the news. This progress belongs to the family caregivers, advocates, partners, and organizations who have worked alongside NAC for 30 years to make care visible. 

Caregiving has moved from the margins to the mainstream. As we mark this milestone, the work ahead is making sure the policies and systems families rely on catch up with the realities of caregiving in America. 

Thirty years ago, family caregiving was invisible to society. In 1996, a group of national organizations came together around a simple conviction: the largest unpaid workforce in America deserved to be counted, understood, and supported. Today, caregivers are counted, studied, and increasingly recognized as essential partners in care. Here’s what three decades of that work has built.

Beginning with the 1997 Caregiving in the US study, conducted in partnership with AARP, NAC created the evidence base the caregiving movement stands on today.