Advancing state implementation of the national strategy to support family caregivers - montana faces substantial challenges supporting its 112,000 family caregivers, who provide 105 million hours of…

Advancing state implementation of the national strategy to support family caregivers - montana faces substantial challenges supporting its 112,000 family caregivers, who provide 105 million hours of unpaid care annually, valued at $1.76 billion (aarp, 2023). Geographic isolation across the fourth largest state (U.S. Census bureau, 2025), where 83% of counties are considered frontier (montana office of rural health, 2025), exacerbates caregiver burden, leading to poor well-being, fragmented services, and delayed support for rural, native american, veteran, and alzheimer's disease and related dementias caregivers. Despite successful past programs by the montana state unit on aging (SUA), effective statewide scalability and integrated support remain critical gaps. Through targeted interventions like expanded respite retreats, legal document clinics, a streamlined voucher program, the caregiver respite food program, and tailored caregiver assessment and referral® (tcare®) integration will empower caregivers with holistic, person-centered care planning, ultimately strengthening montana's care infrastructure. Through the following objectives. 1. Raise public awareness of caregiver roles, challenges, and available resources by leveraging trusted community voices and targeted media outreach. (aligns with goal 1: increase awareness of and outreach to family caregivers) 2. Expand equitable access to caregiver support services by enhancing existing programs -including respite care, legal document assistance, respite vouchers, respite retreats, and caregiver respite food program- and delivering them across montana's rural and underserved communities (aligns with goal 3: strengthen services and supports) 3. Enhance caregiver well-being in rural montana by maximizing engagement and streamlining service navigation through community-based referral supports and guidance tools, ensuring participating caregivers successfully access one or more services via the intake process. (aligns goal 2: advance partnerships and engagement with family caregivers)