National Family Caregivers Month: 7 Things Worth Doing This November
November is National Family Caregivers Month in the United States. Caregiver Action Network has led it since 1997, and this year’s theme is “Care Connects Us.” Awareness months can feel a bit abstract when you’re the one doing the driving, the pill sorting and the 7 a.m. phone calls, so this guide skips the slogans and focuses on something more useful: a short list of things worth actually doing this month, most of which cost nothing.
You’re also in very large company. According to the 2025 Caregiving in the US report from AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving, about 63 million Americans (roughly one in four adults) provided ongoing care to someone in the past year. That’s about 20 million more than a decade earlier. Six in ten of those caregivers also have a job, and around a quarter provide 40 or more hours of care a week.
Quick answer: If you only do one thing this November, call your local Area Agency on Aging (find it through the Eldercare Locator at eldercare.acl.gov). Through the National Family Caregiver Support Program, many of them can point you to respite care, caregiver training, counseling and support groups, often at low or no cost.
1. Find out what your local Area Agency on Aging offers
This is the step most families never take, mostly because nobody tells them it exists. The federal National Family Caregiver Support Program funds help for adults caring for someone 60 or older, or for someone of any age living with Alzheimer’s or a related dementia. According to the Administration for Community Living, the program covers five kinds of support:
- information about services available in your area
- help actually getting access to those services
- individual counseling, support groups and caregiver training
- respite care
- supplemental services, on a limited basis
What’s available, and how much of it, depends on where your parent lives. The way in is the Eldercare Locator (eldercare.acl.gov), which connects you to the local agency. When you call, say plainly what’s going on (“My mom lives alone, I’m her main caregiver and I work full time”) and ask what they have for family caregivers. It’s a short call that can open a lot of doors.
2. Put a real break on the calendar
Not “when things calm down.” An actual date. Respite care can be a few hours of in-home help, a day at an adult day center, or a short stay somewhere, and it’s what keeps caregiving sustainable over years rather than months. If the idea of arranging it feels overwhelming, our step-by-step guide to arranging respite care walks through it, and Respite Care 101 deals with the guilt that usually stops people from booking it.
3. Know your rights at work
If you work, check whether you’re covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). According to the U.S. Department of Labor, eligible employees can take up to 12 workweeks of job-protected leave in a 12-month period to care for a parent, spouse or child with a serious health condition. A few details that matter:
- Who qualifies: you generally need to have worked for your employer for at least 12 months, for at least 1,250 hours in the past year, at a location with 50 or more employees within 75 miles.
- It doesn’t have to be all at once. Leave can be taken in short blocks, like one day a week for appointments or treatment.
- It’s usually unpaid, though it can run at the same time as paid leave your employer offers. Some states also have their own paid family leave programs, so it’s worth checking yours.
Even if you don’t need leave right now, knowing where you stand makes the conversation with your manager much easier when you do.
4. Get the important paperwork in one place
Power of attorney, health care proxy, insurance cards, a current medication list, bank and benefit details. Pulling these together on a calm afternoon is far easier than hunting for them in a hospital waiting room. Our checklist for organizing a parent’s important documents is a good place to start, and if there’s no power of attorney yet, read how to get power of attorney for an aging parent.
5. Ask about tax breaks before the year ends
AARP estimates that family caregivers spend around $7,200 a year of their own money on caregiving. Some of that may be recoverable. Depending on your situation, you may be able to claim a parent you support as a dependent, which can open up the IRS Credit for Other Dependents, and some care costs may count toward the medical expense deduction. The rules on income and support are specific, so look at IRS Publication 501 or ask a tax professional before you file. November is a good time to ask, because there’s still time to plan before December 31.
6. Use the holidays for the family conversation
Thanksgiving is often the one time of year the whole family is in the same room. That makes it a natural moment to talk about who’s doing what, not as a confrontation, but as a check-in. It helps to go in with something concrete to ask for (“Could you take over the Tuesday appointments?”) rather than a general complaint. Our guide to dividing caregiving duties among siblings has ideas for keeping it from turning into an argument.
7. Check in on yourself
The same AARP and NAC report found that one in five caregivers rate their own health as fair or poor, and nearly one in four say caregiving makes it hard to look after their own health. If you’ve been running on fumes, take a few minutes with the signs of caregiver burnout. And if you’ve been meaning to find other people who get it, here’s where to find a caregiver support group. Caregiver Action Network also runs a free Caregiver Help Desk at (855) 227-3640 if you’d rather talk to someone.
A realistic goal for this month
You don’t need to do all seven. Pick two: one that helps your parent (the paperwork, or the call to the local agency) and one that helps you (a booked break, or a support group). That alone makes this November different from the last one.
Sources: Caregiver Action Network: National Family Caregivers Month, AARP: Caregiving in the US 2025, Administration for Community Living: National Family Caregiver Support Program, U.S. Department of Labor: FMLA Fact Sheet #28P, IRS Publication 501
