On September 22nd, the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing Center for Equity in Aging and Center for Equity in Child and Youth Health and Well-Being, welcomed alumna Dr. Connie Siskowski, founder and president of the American Association of Caregiving Youth (AACY), as part of a panel discussion entitled, “Caregiving Youth: A Call to Action for Research, Education and Policy.”
Dr. Siskowski, recognized nationally as a CNN Hero and Purpose Prize recipient, delivered a powerful keynote on the hidden world of youth caregiving, drawing attention to the more than five million children under 18 in the United States who provide care for family members.
See more photos from the presentation
She emphasized that caregiving youth face unique challenges, such as balancing schoolwork with demanding home responsibilities and navigating healthcare systems. Dr. Siskowski noted that these young people are not only vulnerable but also resilient, empathetic, and purposeful, often gaining life skills and a sense of meaning from their duties.
Key Takeaways:
- Recognition and Support: Youth caregivers are too often invisible in policy, education, and healthcare. Dr. Siskowski called for systemic changes to identify and support them, including integrating questions about caregiving into school and health assessments.
- Education Impact: Caregiving responsibilities can lead to absenteeism, lower academic performance, and even school dropout. AACY’s model school-based program demonstrates how support can boost graduation rates and improve long-term outcomes.
- Health Equity Issue: Youth caregiving intersects with poverty, race, immigration status, and disability. Dr. Siskowski emphasized the importance of culturally responsive approaches and acknowledged the strengths that caregiving youth bring.
- Opportunities for Research & Policy: From national prevalence studies to integrating youth caregiver experiences into nursing and medical curricula, researchers and educators were encouraged to push the field forward.
See more photos from the presentation
A panel featuring Dr. Katherine Miller, Dr. Catherine Ling, Dr. Eliana Perrin, Dr. Deborah Gross, and Dr. Katherine Ornstein expanded on these themes, stressing the long-term economic impacts of early caregiving, the importance of embedding compassion and listening into clinical training, and the dual nature of caregiving as both a burden and a source of pride for many children.
A Call to Action
The event closed with a call to action: to see, support, and stand alongside caregiving youth. From curriculum development and student engagement at Hopkins to national advocacy and research, attendees were challenged to help ensure that no child has to sacrifice their education or well-being in place of their caregiving responsibilities.