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Creates a new grant program under the Older Americans Act to fund competitive grants for developing or expanding in-person and virtual peer support programs for family caregivers. Grants may be used for caregiver navigation and emotional support services, workforce recruitment and training of certified peer specialists, and improved virtual and language-accessible mental and behavioral health supports. The Secretary must identify underserved areas and give priority to applicants serving specified underserved populations. The measure authorizes $10 million per year for fiscal years 2026–2030 to carry out the program.
The bill creates targeted, multi-year federal support to expand peer support and mental/behavioral health services for family caregivers—especially underserved groups—but the funding level and grant-application/technology barriers mean many caregivers or regions may still lack access.
Family caregivers (e.g., parents and other unpaid caregivers) will gain access to new in-person and virtual peer support programs that provide navigation help and emotional support.
Peer support specialists and the caregivers they serve will benefit from federal support for training, recruitment, and retention of certified peer support specialists, likely improving service quality and availability.
Caregivers with mental/behavioral health needs and those who need language access (non-English speakers, ASL users) will have better access to culturally and linguistically appropriate services as grants support expanded mental/behavioral health offerings and language access.
Many family caregivers nationwide may still lack services because the $10 million per year appropriation is small relative to the scale of need.
Prioritizing underserved populations could reduce funding available to other caregivers or regions not designated as 'underserved,' leaving some areas or groups with fewer resources.
Communities and organizations with limited grant-writing or administrative capacity may fail to secure grants, so areas with fewer institutional resources could be left out of the program's benefits.
Introduced November 20, 2025 by Edward John Markey · Last progress November 20, 2025