Policies to Support Family Carers

In most countries, family carers and friends supply the bulk of caring, and the estimated economic value exceeds by far expenditure on formal care. A continuation of caring roles will be essential given future demographic and cost pressures facing long-term care (LTC) systems across the OECD. This is also what care recipients themselves prefer. Continuing to seek ways to support and maintain the supply of family care appears therefore a potentially win-win-win approach: For the care recipient for the carers and for public systems. This chapter provides an overview and an assessment of the current set of policies targeted to family carers, in relation to three main aspects: Caring and the labour market, carers’ wellbeing, and financial recognition to carers. The effectiveness of policies in helping carers combine care with paid work, in reducing burnout and stress of carers, and in recognising the additional costs associated with caring will then be discussed.