Trans people and people of color have been quietly erased from national caregiving plan

"Dozens of changes were quietly made this year to the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers, which was first released in 2022 after years of work by government officials and community stakeholders. An objective to "prioritize efforts to advance equity for unserved and underserved populations of caregivers" was removed entirely, as was a section noting that the challenges of family caregiving are not equally distributed."

"The alliance represents the interests of family caregivers, or about 59 million Americans. A recent report from the alliance and the AARP showed that not all family caregivers face the same amount or intensity of challenge. "[Our research] shows that family caregivers span the full spectrum... Yet people of color, women and LGBTQ Americans experience greater negative impacts from caregiving, from financial hardships to worse health outcomes," Resendez told The 19th in a statement."

Significant edits were made to the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers, first released in 2022. The edits removed an objective to prioritize equity for unserved and underserved caregiver populations and deleted a section noting unequal distribution of caregiving challenges. Transgender caregivers and caregivers of color were erased from a listed category of underserved or hard-to-reach populations. The National Alliance for Family Caregiving, representing about 59 million caregivers, says research shows people of color, women and LGBTQ Americans face greater negative caregiving impacts, including financial hardship and worse health outcomes. The Department of Health and Human Services said the changes were made earlier this year.

Read at Advocate.com