Wisconsin Family Caregivers Support Systems Advancement Project - Family caregivers are the backbone of Wisconsin's long-term care system. More than 1,085,000 Wisconsin adults provide unpaid care to family members, friends, and loved ones, helping individuals remain healthy, independent, and connected to their communities (AARP and National Alliance for Caregiving, 2025). Despite their critical role, many caregivers experience stress, social isolation, financial strain, and challenges accessing services, supports, and information. Many do not identify themselves as caregivers and often seek assistance only after caregiving demands become overwhelming. Through Wisconsin's first Advancing State Implementation of the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers grant, the state expanded caregiver awareness, strengthened partnerships, increased access to education and training, and advanced caregiver-friendly workplace initiatives. Important gaps remain in caregiver engagement, navigation and access to resources, workplace supports, youth caregiver services, and statewide caregiving research and data infrastructure. This project will build on Wisconsin's initial implementation efforts by strengthening statewide caregiver engagement and partnership infrastructure through the Wisconsin Family and Caregiver Support Alliance (WFACSA), and expand access to caregiver education and support through Trualta, the online caregiver education and training portal currently available to all Wisconsin residents. We will build new pathways for supporting youth caregivers, advancing caregiver-friendly workplace practices, and strengthening Wisconsin-based caregiving research and collaboration. Through coordinated outreach, education, navigation, partnership development, evaluation, and dissemination activities, the project will increase caregiver awareness, access to services and supports, community engagement, and long-term systems capacity. Project outcomes include increased caregiver engagement and access to resources, improved caregiver knowledge and confidence, expanded support for caregiving youth, greater adoption of caregiver-friendly workplace practices, increased use of evidence-informed caregiver assessment and support strategies, and development of a sustainable statewide collaborative that strengthens caregiving research, policy, and practice. Findings, tools, and lessons learned will be shared statewide and nationally to advance implementation of the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers.
