November Is National Family Caregivers Month

November is National Family Caregivers Month, a chance to recognize the contributions, commitment, and sacrifices made by America’s 63 million family caregivers every single day.

Debbie Richman of Plymouth is one of Minnesota’s 931,000 family caregivers. She stepped into the role five years ago after her mother’s cancer diagnosis and now juggles caring for her 91-year-old father while working full-time as a staff development trainer.

Newly released AARP caregiving data, Caregiving in the U.S. 2025: Caring Across States, finds that one in five adults (21%) in Minnesota are family caregivers, providing largely unpaid and unsupported care to older parents, spouses, and other loved ones.

Across Minnesota, family caregivers help older parents, spouses, or other loved ones live independently at home and in their communities—where they want to be. Each year, they provide an estimated 500 million hours of unpaid care. They are the backbone of our long-term care system, spending countless hours driving to doctor appointments, picking up prescriptions, cooking meals, managing medications, and much more.

61% of Minnesota caregivers assist with personal care tasks like dressing, bathing, feeding, and toileting—yet only 12% receive any training to do so. Nearly one in four (23%) provide 40+ hours of care per week or constant care.

Most family caregivers don’t get paid for helping their loved ones, but they still spend plenty out of their own pockets—and it’s not cheap. On average, caregivers spend more than $7,200 a year, roughly a quarter of their income. In Minnesota, 34% report financial setbacks—taking on debt, draining savings, or struggling to afford basics like food and medicine. And for the 74% of Minnesota caregivers who are also working, many must reduce work hours or leave the workforce entirely due to caregiving responsibilities.

But here’s the thing: while family caregivers do so much for their loved ones, they’re too often overlooked by society and lawmakers as they hold up a broken system. That’s why this month, and every month, AARP Minnesota is shining a spotlight on family caregivers and calling on lawmakers to pass commonsense solutions that will save them money, time, and provide them with more support. 

One major win: Minnesota’s new Paid Family and Medical Leave program, which begins January 1, 2026. This state-run insurance program will provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave to care for a loved one or recover from a serious health condition. It offers job protection and partial wage replacement, and covers full-time, part-time, temporary, and most seasonal workers.

Minnesota’s New Paid Family and Medical Leave Program

Starting in January 1, Minnesotans will have access to Paid Family and Medical Leave—a new law AARP Minnesota helped champion to support working caregivers and their families.

AARP Minnesota Is Here for You
AARP Minnesota is proud to stand with our family caregivers, offering free tools and resources to help them navigate their role as a caregiver.

Explore the full Caring Across America report and the Minnesota summary to see how caregiving varies nationwide and what the data tells us about the lives behind the numbers.