American Association of Caregiving Youth (AACY)

Caregiving Youth Shine on NBC’s TODAY Show with Maria Shriver: A National Spotlight Ignites Hope for Change | The American Association of Caregiving Youth (AACY) & @CampKesem teamed up for this appearance. A big win for Caregiving Youth recognition and advocacy. #CaregivingYouth

AACY has been awarded a 2026 Platinum Transparency Rating by Candid, the highest rating offered. It reflects our commitment to financial accountability and transparency. app.candid.org/profile/808019…

Get Your Green On Day! The AACY team wore green to join this Palm Beach County effort supporting mental health awareness and trauma-informed care. For some Caregiving Youth, mental health awareness is not just a campaign. It is connected to what is happening at home. #GYGO365

A Caregiving Youth Project student recently received a care package from Madelene, who lives in Texas and stays in touch with our family specialists. When she hears that one of our students could use a little encouragement, Madelene pulls together a care package box just for them

How many Caregiving Youth are there in the United States? A plain language guide: aacy.org/aacy-publishes…

I write about Caregiving Youth almost every day, so I spend a lot of time with the numbers. A few months ago, I was writing something and cited a prevalence number. AI tools kept correcting me. Kept telling me the number had gone down. It hadn't. There are several published estimates, and they do not all measure the same thing. Without context, they can look like they contradict each other. They don't. So I wrote a guide. It is not an academic paper. It is my attempt, after a lot of research, to understand where AI was getting this from and explain what the major U.S. estimates actually measure, why they differ, and why none of them should be read as evidence of decline. This is the kind of thing that sounds technical until you think about what it means for the kids. When a population is not counted clearly, it is easier for systems to ignore it. Children in the United States were directly interviewed for a national Caregiving Youth prevalence study exactly once. In 2005. It has never been repeated. That is not because no one cared. It is because this field has been running on too little of everything for a very long time. Every current number should be understood as a floor, not a ceiling. The number did not go down. The guide is on the AACY website. How Many Caregiving Youth in U.S.? aacy.org/aacy-publishes…

Pranay Gadikota knows what it means to carry responsibility at home while still trying to be a student. During high school, Pranay helped support his great-grandmother through a serious illness. That experience shaped his academic path, his advocacy, and the way he thinks about care. This week, Alachua County Public Schools recognized Pranay as a 2026 U.S. Presidential Scholar Semifinalist. He is one of fewer than 630 semifinalists in the country and one of 25 from Florida. Pranay is also a National Merit Finalist, the recipient of a $70,000 scholarship from the Education Foundation, and will head to Harvard University later this year. He plans to study neuroscience and ultimately become a doctor. He has also been a strong voice for Caregiving Youth. Pranay spoke at AACY’s Caregiving Youth Institute Conference and published an op-ed calling on pediatricians to ask young patients directly about caregiving responsibilities at home. Congratulations, Pranay. We are proud to see your caregiving experience recognized as part of your story, your leadership, and your future. #CaregivingYouth #Graduation2026 #KidsAreCaregiversToo #Harvard

Caregiving on the Common App: A Step in the Right Direction open.substack.com/pub/caregiving…

Students are invited to apply for the ECHO Young Carer Anthology Project, a youth-led writing project created by Angela, a Caregiving Youth herself. Applications close May 17, 2026, at 11:59 PM EST. Scan the QR code on the flyer or visit instagram.com/projectycan.of… on Instagram.

The April Edition of the Caregiving Youth Project Newsletter is out now! myemail.constantcontact.com/Caregiving-You…

Thank you, Maria Miranda, for bringing Caregiving Youth into the aging conversation so powerfully and for representing this work, and @AACYorg, with such care. "A week out of attending and presenting at ASA’s 2026 On Aging Conference, and I continue to be happily speechless. I am deeply moved by the acknowledgement that our leaders in aging displayed toward the children that are caring for their older family members. Even after Brian and I presented in a packed room of engaged leaders, I was approached throughout the week by attendees and people who wished to attend but couldn’t, asking questions and wanting to join in the advocacy effort. I am looking forward to further engaging with this new community. Thank you to ASA for an impactful conference, and most importantly, for recognizing the importance of lived experience alongside research. You all truly understand the power in sharing one’s story. Thank you to everyone that supports caregiving youth! Let’s join together to be a hero to our young heroes. Looking forward to ASA On Aging 2027!" #caregivingyouth #onaging2026 #aging #caregivingjourney

I don't know Fernando Mendoza or his family personally, so I won't speak for them. But most people will see the athlete, the draft pick, the comeback story, the family loyalty. What they may miss is the child who grew up with a parent's serious illness as part of daily life. Many kids in that role are never identified. They are not supported at school. And far too many never get the chance to show what they could have become. Fernando's story is extraordinary. But the issue behind it is not rare. Most of the kids who are caregivers never get this kind of outcome. #CaregivingYouth 🎯 @aakashgupta @HopeLovesCo @AACYorg "The biggest stage in football, the moment every kid imagines from the second they pick up a ball, and Fernando watched the call from his living room in Florida because his mom Elsa is in a wheelchair and the travel is hard for her. She was diagnosed with MS when he was 4..."

“Caregiving youth are out of sight and out of mind,” says ⁦@AACYorg⁩ founder Connie Siskowski. A nurse and health professional, she noticed a pattern among students, chronically tired, falling behind, assuming adult responsibilities at home. m.facebook.com/story.php?stor…

AACY is in Austin this weekend for the 42nd Annual ALCA Conference. Connie T. Siskowski, RN, PhD, joins Jodi O’Donnell-Ames, Patti LaFleur, and Madeline Grace Asbell for the closing session on Caregiving Youth, dementia, and family care. @aginglifecare #CaregivingYouth

If you missed this when it came out, it is really worth your time. Read the full report at littledreamers.org.au/wp-content/upl… #CaregivingYouth #YoungCarers #KidsAreCaregiversToo @littledreamers @KidsCaregiveToo

Why No Child Should Have To Sacrifice School To Care For Their Family | This article features AACY founder Dr. Connie Siskowski & highlights AACY’s model for identifying and supporting students in @pbcgov forbes.com/sites/weskilgo…

Kids Are Caregivers Too. Over 5.4 Million in the United States.

In Forbes today, contributor Wesley Kilgore writes in “Why No Child Should Have To Sacrifice School To Care For Their Family” about the hidden crisis facing Caregiving Youth in the United States and the impact caregiving responsibilities can have on children’s education, health, and well-being. The article features AACY founder Dr. Connie Siskowski, highlights AACY’s model for identifying and supporting students who provide care at home, and profiles 12-year-old Hantz Lafaille of Boynton Beach, Florida, a student in the Caregiving Youth Project. The piece also cites journalist and former Caregiving Youth Lisa McCarty’s recent TIME article on the impact proposed Medicaid cuts could have on families who depend on home-based care. Read the full article: forbes.com/sites/weskilgo… #CaregivingYouth #KidsAreCaregiversToo #Caregiving

On a personal level, I am really happy to see Lisa McCarty’s first TIME Magazine piece out in the world. time.com/article/2026/0… Every voice matters in this field, and I am glad to see hers reaching people at this level. I love her writing, and I am especially glad to see her connecting her POV to the world of Caregiving Youth. I think Lisa is going to be an important force for positive change for kids who are caregivers in the United States. Congratulations, Lisa. Grateful to know you, and grateful to see your work getting this kind of visibility. 📷 Repost Lisa McCarty "I’m proud to share a new deeply personal, timely and important article…📷 📷 In my latest essay and my first op ed for TIME Magazine, I shared how caregiving for my mother at a young age impacted my health long term and address the critical issue of lack of support for millions of young people in the U.S, who are in this role — known as caregiving youth. 📷 It’s especially relevant now because there is a new bill being considered will likely lead to more Medicaid cuts and kids caregiving at a young age — which will worsen this existing caregiving crisis and mental health problem in the U.S. 📷 This is one of the most meaningful pieces I’ve ever written. I’m grateful to my editor for the opportunity. 📷 You can read the full article at the link in IG stories or in my bio. 📷 Special thanks to American Association of Caregiving Youth, Sara Poole and Dita W. Yolashasanti for your incredible work in this space and for your insights. 📷 I’m also grateful for my mentors Susan Shapiro and Peter Mountford for your continued guidance. And to all those who gave feedback on this, you know who you are. 📷 Huge thank you to all of you here in this community for reading my work, for your love and endless support. 📷 Save this, repost and share it to spread awareness. 📷 Follow me for more support, to stay informed on women’s health and wellness from a writer, journalist and advocate." #KidsAreCaregiversToo #CaregivingYouth #caregivingsupport #caregiving #fyp #medicaid #writingcommunityofinstagram

The April 2026 issue of AACY Connects is out. This quarter: Caregiving Youth cited in TIME Magazine, AACY National Advisory Council members presenting at On Aging 2026, Dr. Connie Siskowski at the Aging Life Care Association Conference closing session, international recognition in a Churchill Fellowship report on best-practice programs for young carers, and Camp Treasure bringing more than 30 students together for a day of respite and connection. Also in this issue: Omarion Calloway's thesis film Hands Too Small, Episode 2 of the Global Caregiving Youth Collective, Frank A. Barbieri, Jr., Esq. rejoining the AACY Board, and local coverage in the Boca Raton Tribune. myemail.constantcontact.com/AACY-Connects-…

We are grateful to @AACYorg National Advisory Council member Todd Keitz and the team at My Care Friends for building the Global Caregiving Youth Collective and giving young people a place to speak about their caregiving experiences. Episode 2 is out now. Omarion, Jacqueline, and Aditya talk about the emotional and mental health side of caregiving, and they do not hold back. “Just because we’re here now, as young adults, in school, working, building our own lives, that doesn’t mean those feelings disappeared or even went away. Caregiving changes you.” — Omarion “It’s hard to give yourself permission to be anxious or sad because you feel like it’s not valid for you to have those emotions. But just because it’s outside of your control, I don’t think it’s realistic to expect young carers not to be impacted by that.” — Jacqueline “When you watch someone that you love struggle, and your family struggling along with it, it’s very difficult to be vulnerable to people that you’re close with and really explain what you’ve been through.” — Aditya Thank you, Todd, for putting this conversation out in the world. Watch Episode 2 on YouTube: youtu.be/_29mRGJzMBM?si… #caregivingyouth #youngcarers #caregiving #mentalhealth #advocacy