Quick answer: The National Family Caregiver Support Program is a federal grant created in 2000. It runs under Title III-E of the Older Americans Act. It funds five services for family caregivers, including respite care and counseling. You apply through your Area Agency on Aging, not through a federal office.
Most caregivers find this program by accident, years too late. It is not advertised and it has no website you can apply on.
That is a shame, because respite care is the one thing that keeps families going.
What the program actually is
Congress created the NFCSP in 2000. The authorizing law is Section 371 of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended, known as Title III-E.
The Administration for Community Living gives grants to states and territories. The formula is based on each state’s share of the population age 70 and over.
States pass the money to Area Agencies on Aging. Those agencies decide what to fund locally and who gets served first.
Funding is modest for a national program. ACL’s published funding history lists $150,586,000 for FY 2016, up from $145,586,000 in each of the three prior years.
That matters because the program is a capped grant, not an entitlement. Meeting the eligibility rules does not guarantee you a service.
The five services it pays for
Every NFCSP grantee provides the same five categories.
- Information to caregivers about available services
- Assistance in gaining access to those services
- Individual counseling, support groups and caregiver training
- Respite care
- Supplemental services, on a limited basis
Respite is the category families care about most. It buys temporary relief, at home, in adult day care or in a facility.
Supplemental services are the flexible bucket. Agencies use it for consumable supplies, home modifications or emergency assistance. The statute limits how much money can go there.
What it does not do
The NFCSP does not pay you a salary. None of the five categories is a wage.
If you need income for caregiving, that comes from somewhere else. Medicaid self-direction and the VA caregiver stipend are the two real options.
Our guide on how much family members get paid for caregiving walks through both.
The program also does not replace long-term care. Medicare.gov is clear that Medicare does not pay for long-term care either.
That makes respite hours the only relief many families ever get.
Who qualifies
The 2020 Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act set out four eligible groups.
| Caregiver | Person Being Cared For | Age Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Adult family member or informal caregiver | Older adult | Care recipient 60+ |
| Adult family member or informal caregiver | Person with Alzheimer’s or related disorder | Any age |
| Older relative, not a parent | Child | Caregiver 55+, child under 18 |
| Older relative, including a parent | Adult with a disability | Caregiver 55+, adult 18–59 |
Note the second row. If your spouse or parent has dementia, age 60 is not a barrier at all.
Under the 2024 Older Americans Act final rule, providers may define “adults” to include people under 18. That applies only in some circumstances. A 17-year-old caregiver can sometimes qualify if state law or the provider allows it.
You do not need to be related by blood. “Informal caregiver” covers neighbors, friends and chosen family.
There is no federal income test. Agencies may still target services to people with the greatest social and economic need.
How to apply
There is no online form and no federal intake line for the program itself.
Call the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116. It is a public service of the Administration for Community Living. It connects you to your local Area Agency on Aging.
You can also search by zip code at eldercare.acl.gov. Either route ends at the same place.
What to ask on the call
Be specific, because agencies fund different things in different years.
- Do you have Title III-E respite hours available right now?
- Is there a waiting list, and how long is it?
- Do you fund in-home respite, adult day care, or both?
- What supplemental services are you funding this year?
- Do you run caregiver training or a support group I can join?
Ask for a caregiver assessment, not just a referral. That is the document that gets you into the system.
What happens next
Most agencies do a phone screen, then an in-home or virtual assessment. They look at what the care recipient needs and what is wearing you down.
Then they build a small plan. It might be six hours of respite a week, a support group and a training class.
Keep the caseworker’s direct line. Funding shifts during the year, and people who stay in touch get the hours that free up.
Does it work?
ACL publishes outcome data from its national survey of caregivers of older adult clients.
In that survey, 74% of caregivers said services let them provide care longer than would otherwise have been possible. Another 88% said services helped them be a better caregiver.
Most striking, nearly 62% said the care recipient would be living in a nursing home without the services they received.
Service volume has been real. In FY 2014, more than 700,000 caregivers received NFCSP services. More than 604,000 got respite, through nearly 6 million hours of relief.
What respite actually looks like
Respite is the service families ask about most, so it helps to know the forms it takes.
In-home respite. A trained worker comes to the house for a block of hours. You leave, sleep or run errands.
Adult day care. The care recipient spends the day at a center with meals, activities and supervision. Many families use this two or three days a week.
Overnight or facility respite. A short stay in a nursing facility or assisted living community. This is how caregivers take an actual vacation.
Emergency respite. Some agencies hold back hours for crises, such as a caregiver’s own surgery.
Ask which of these your agency funds. Not every Area Agency on Aging offers all four.
Use the hours before you need them
The most common mistake is saving respite for an emergency.
Caregivers who take small, regular breaks last longer than those who push to exhaustion. Book a standing block every week and protect it.
If you cancel more than twice, most agencies reassign the hours. Treat the appointment like a medical one.
Stack it with everything else
NFCSP works best as one piece of a plan, not the whole plan.
Your Area Agency on Aging is also the gateway to home-delivered meals, transportation and fall-prevention classes. Ask about all of it in the same call.
The same agency often knows about local home-repair money. Our guide to grants for home modifications explains the federal and nonprofit programs to ask about by name.
If you need equipment rather than hours, start with free medical equipment for seniors. Loan closets and state assistive technology programs fill gaps that grant money never reaches.
And if paid help is the real answer, price it honestly first. Our in-home care cost guide has the 2026 hourly rates by state.
Bottom line
If you care for someone 60 or older, or anyone with dementia, you are probably eligible today. Call 1-800-677-1116 and ask your Area Agency on Aging for a caregiver assessment and Title III-E respite.
Do not expect a paycheck from this program, because it does not pay wages. Expect hours off, training and a caseworker who knows the local system.
Then use those hours. Caregivers who take respite early keep going far longer than those who wait for a crisis.
Frequently asked questions
What is the National Family Caregiver Support Program?
It is a federal grant program created in 2000 under Title III-E of the Older Americans Act. The Administration for Community Living sends money to states and territories based on their share of the population age 70 and over. States pass it to Area Agencies on Aging, which fund respite, counseling, training and information for family caregivers.
Who is eligible for NFCSP services?
Adult family members or other informal caregivers of people age 60 and older qualify. So do caregivers of a person of any age with Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder. Older relatives age 55 and older raising children under 18 qualify, as do older relatives 55 and older caring for adults 18 to 59 with disabilities.
Does the program pay me to be a caregiver?
No. The five NFCSP service categories are information, access assistance, counseling and training, respite care, and limited supplemental services. None of them is a wage. To be paid for caregiving, look at Medicaid self-directed programs or the VA caregiver stipend instead.
How do I apply for the National Family Caregiver Support Program?
There is no federal application. Call the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 or visit eldercare.acl.gov to find your Area Agency on Aging. That agency screens you, explains what its NFCSP dollars fund this year, and puts you on a list if demand exceeds funding.
How much respite care can I get?
It varies by agency and by year, because NFCSP is a capped grant rather than an entitlement. Federal data from FY 2014 showed respite going to more than 604,000 caregivers through nearly 6 million hours of relief. Your local agency sets its own per-family limits based on its budget.
Sources
- ACL — National Family Caregiver Support Program — accessed 2026-09-02
- Eldercare Locator (Administration for Community Living) — accessed 2026-09-02
- Medicaid.gov — Self-Directed Services — accessed 2026-09-02
- VA — Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers — accessed 2026-09-02
- Medicare.gov — Long-term care — accessed 2026-09-02