The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) recently highlighted Colorado and Rhode Island as states developing meaningful approaches to identifying and supporting caregiving youth.
In the brief, “How Colorado and Rhode Island Are Supporting Caregiving Youth,” NASHP examines how data, cross-sector partnerships, and policy initiatives are helping bring greater recognition to young people who provide care for family members.
Colorado’s progress is closely tied to the work of the Colorado Alliance for Caregiving Youth (CACY). NASHP notes that CACY successfully advocated for adding a youth caregiving question to Colorado’s Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, helping the state better identify a population that has historically gone largely unseen. The article also highlights Colorado’s partnerships across education, libraries, health care, and state government, along with the Colorado General Assembly’s unanimous designation of February 20, 2026, as Caregiving Youth Day.
CACY Founder and Executive Director Nadine Roberts Cornish is featured in the article, underscoring the importance of data in changing the conversation around caregiving youth:
“The data didn’t just inform us in the state of Colorado, it actually shifted the conversation. Because once we can measure caregiving youth, we can no longer ignore it.”
The NASHP brief also points to broader momentum for caregiving youth nationally, including the 2026 federal update to the definition of family caregiver, which explicitly includes individuals under age 18. The authors identify Colorado and Rhode Island as examples of how states can combine data, partnerships, and existing systems to better recognize and support caregiving youth.
Read the full NASHP brief:
How Colorado and Rhode Island Are Supporting Caregiving Youth
Learn more about CACY’s work to help caregiving youth feel visible, valued, and supported at cacycares.org.
