General caregiving and government resources
Some families arrive at a specific caregiving question — a fall, a diagnosis, a discharge. Others arrive with a more general one: Where do I even start? This page is for the second group. These are the federal agencies and national organizations I’d point families to first — the ones that directly serve caregivers across a wide range of situations, or that work best as the entry point to everything else. If you’re not sure which of the more specific resource hubs applies to your situation, start here.
Federal agencies
Administration for Community Living (ACL)
The federal agency responsible for aging and disability services. ACL funds and oversees the Eldercare Locator, the national network of Area Agencies on Aging, the National Family Caregiver Support Program, and a wide range of community-based services for older adults. ACL is the federal infrastructure that most local aging services run through — understanding what ACL funds helps families understand what they’re entitled to ask for. ACL’s site also covers the state-by-state aging-services landscape and maintains connections to the formal caregiver support programs in each state. — acl.gov
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
The federal institute responsible for aging research and public education. NIA publishes some of the most authoritative, plain-language consumer resources on aging, caregiving, Alzheimer’s disease, end-of-life planning, and the biology of aging. The NIA website — particularly the “Caregiving” and “Health and Aging” sections — is the government’s best family-facing information resource on aging topics. Free, no commercial interest, updated regularly. — nia.nih.gov
Benefits.gov
Official US government benefits finder. A single entry point for federal benefit programs — Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, veterans’ benefits, housing assistance, nutrition programs, and others. Enter a situation and location to see which federal programs apply. Most useful for families who aren’t sure what programs their parent may qualify for and want a government-side overview before going deeper. — benefits.gov
USA.gov — Aging
The federal government’s general public-information portal. The aging section at usa.gov covers caregiving basics, housing options, financial assistance, elder abuse prevention, and links to major federal resources. Not a deep resource on any single topic — but a reliable, neutral entry point for families who don’t know which specific federal agency applies to their question. — usa.gov/aging
National nonprofit organizations
AARP — Caregiving Resource Center
The largest membership organization for adults 50+ in the US, with one of the most comprehensive free caregiving resources in the country. AARP’s Caregiving Resource Center (aarp.org/caregiving) is the specific section of the AARP website focused on family caregivers — distinct from AARP’s membership benefits, travel, and advocacy functions. The Caregiving Resource Center includes guides on managing a parent’s care, navigating the healthcare system, the financial side of caregiving, and caregiver self-care. AARP is a membership organization with a significant commercial and advocacy presence; the Caregiving Resource Center’s information resources are free, useful, and do not require membership. AARP’s policy positions — on Social Security, Medicare, and aging legislation — are its own, and AARP is an advocacy organization, not a neutral government source. Worth knowing the context; the resource content stands on its own. — aarp.org/caregiving
AARP Public Policy Institute — Caregiving Research
AARP’s research and policy arm, distinct from the membership organization. The AARP Public Policy Institute publishes data and research on family caregiving — including the widely-cited Caregiving in the US report (produced jointly with NAC). Useful for families or professionals who want evidence-based context on the caregiving landscape: prevalence, financial impact, family dynamics, workforce trends. — aarp.org/ppi
National Council on Aging (NCOA)
One of the oldest and largest US nonprofits focused on aging. NCOA’s work spans economic security (BenefitsCheckUp, Medicare savings programs — covered in the Financial and Legal hub), health and falls prevention (covered in the Home and Safety hub), and broader aging-services programming. At the general level, NCOA’s website serves as a navigational resource across all of these domains and provides consumer-facing guides that don’t fit neatly into a single topic category. NCOA is a nonprofit with a mix of government grants, foundation funding, and corporate partnerships; it is not a government agency. — ncoa.org
Where to start in a hurry
If you don’t know where to start, the two calls that do the most work in the least time are:
- Eldercare Locator — 1-800-677-1116. Your local Area Agency on Aging is the one organization that knows your specific community: what services exist, what your parent may qualify for, which local providers families have found trustworthy. No national website replicates local knowledge.
- AARP’s Caregiving Resource Center at aarp.org/caregiving — for a broad, well-organized, free library of caregiving guidance organized by topic and life stage.
From there, the more specific resource hubs on this site go deeper on each area. Choose the hub that matches your situation, not the one with the most familiar name.