Congratulations! USAging Achievements & Innovation Awards Luncheon -- Award Winner Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition.

The Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition was presented a USAing Achievement and Innovation Award at the USAging Conference in Chicago on July 20, 2025. The Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition is a statewide advocacy organization that regularly gathers around 100 active partners statewide to learn about trends and best practices from national caregiver organizations, other states and local partners. The Coalition also gives Illinois family caregivers a voice in national and state policy discussions.

Receiving the Award on July 20, 2025 - First Row L to R: Mary Killough, Director of IDoA; Diane Slezak, CEO of AgeOptions; Amy Brennan, Director of the Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition; Susan Real, CEO of East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging; and Marla Fronczak, CEO, AgeGuide

The Coalition was founded in 2021 with significant input and leadership from Illinois Area Agencies on Aging (AAA), including East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging, serving Champaign, Clark, Coles, Cumberland, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Iroquois, Livingston, Macon, McLean, Moultrie, Piatt, Shelby and Vermilion counties.

Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition advocacy in Washington, DC, March 30-April 2, 2025 - L to R: Amy Brennan, Director of the Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition; Diane Slezak, CEO of AgeOptions; Susan Real, CEO of East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging; and  Serena Worthington, Retirement Research Foundation for Aging

More than 400 caregivers, caregiver resource centers, state agencies, elected officials and partners are currently members of the Coalition, which coordinates the various partners in the Aging Network, state government and in AAA regions throughout Illinois.

Accomplishments:

• Built a large and varied statewide membership. The membership grew from the original 13 Illinois AAAs to include more than 400 coalition members.
• Successfully advocated with Illinois AAAs to create the first-ever state budget line item ($5 million) for caregiver services.
• Created a 62-page “Caregiver Stories” booklet featuring 26 Illinois caregiver stories, published eight letters to the editor in various newspapers throughout the state, and were featured in a “Caregiving” magazine cover story.

For more information on the Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition and become a member, go to https://illinoisfamilycaregiver.org/.