The US is putting cash behind compassion.
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the department are offering $2 million for AI ideas that can support millions of family caregivers struggling to keep pace.
Kennedy unveiled the initiative during an HHS virtual event held with the Administration for Community Living (ACL), calling for technologies that can help “make caregiving more humane.”
A load growing heavier each year
Caregiving has become one of the country’s fastest-growing burdens, with 63 million Americans now supporting aging relatives or loved ones with disabilities, according to estimates from AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving. That’s nearly one in four adults stepping in as the nation’s informal care workforce.
The strain shows. National surveys cited by HHS find that nearly half of caregivers report worsening mental health, while only one in four say they’re in good physical health.
Those pressures are rising as the paid care workforce thins out. Staffing shortages and high turnover in direct-care jobs are pushing even more responsibility onto families already stretched thin.
And the challenge isn’t distributed evenly. According to USA Today, access to care resources varies widely by state, leaving millions with fewer services, limited support networks, and rising day-to-day responsibilities at home.
Seeking solutions that turn overwhelm into order
The new prize competition zeroes in on the daily hurdles that make caregiving so demanding. HHS wants AI tools that educate, assist, and strip away the paperwork that routinely steals time from hands-on care.
Innovators are being asked to build tech that helps family, friends, and paid caregivers deliver safe, person-centered support at home, the setting where most care happens and where resources are often thinnest.
Employers are part of the equation, too. The department is looking for AI systems that can improve scheduling, streamline training, and boost efficiency across the caregiving workforce.
And beyond logistics, HHS is pushing for tools that can flag emerging health risks and automate repetitive tasks that bog down caregivers. The department stresses that AI must support care while keeping humanity central. Kennedy emphasized, “AI can change caregiving, but it will never replace compassion… the human element.”
How HHS plans to separate promise from real impact
The competition moves through three phases: design, testing, and scaling. This structure is meant to vet ideas not just for ingenuity but for how well they work in real homes. Entries must show they can move beyond concepts and function in the everyday chaos of caregiving.
HHS is prioritizing tools that are effective, affordable, and ready for deployment across a wide range of caregiving situations. The department is looking for solutions that can scale, technologies sturdy enough for national use yet flexible enough to support families with vastly different needs.
HHS said the goal is straightforward: reward innovation that expands access to quality care at home, not ideas that look impressive but fall apart in practice.
A new beat in the government’s long march for caregivers
The AI challenge builds on a broad slate of HHS and ACL programs already aimed at propping up families doing the hardest care work at home. That network includes longstanding efforts like the National Family Caregiver Support Program, Lifespan Respite Care, and the RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council, as well as initiatives supporting grandparents raising grandchildren and strengthening the paid care workforce.
HHS cast the contest as the next step in a federal caregiving push that has been expanding for years, folding modern technology into existing support programs. It also ties into the administration’s Make America Healthy Again Strategy Report, which calls for new tools to strengthen long-term care and the people who provide it.
As federal health leaders look for tools that support families at home, healthcare as a whole is accelerating its AI adoption at more than double the national rate.