A young caregiver is a person under the age of 18 who is in need of specific services because his or her life is affected by the need to provide care for a household member who is ill, disabled, or elderly.
This may include a child or young person who provides direct personal care to another person, who takes on a supportive role for the main caregiver, or who undertakes domestic duties as a result of the need for care. It may also include a child or young person who is denied ordinary social or education opportunities because of the other person’s need for care. These needs may arise on a regular or on an occasional basis.
About AACY
The American Association of Caregiving Youth is a Florida based 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation that began serving the greater Boca Raton community in 1998. Today AACY® is the only organization of its kind in the United States for addressing the issues surrounding the silent, vulnerable and hidden population, conservatively estimated to exceed 1.4 million children, who provide care for family members who are unable to manage life independently.
The AACY mission is to increase awareness about the effects on children who provide care for family members who are ill, injured, elderly and/or disabled while fostering the replication of the Caregiving Youth Project model within Florida and the US; to provide direct and indirect support services for caregiving youth and their families; and, to establish the Institute on Youth Caregiving.