Federal health officials are launching a multimillion-dollar competition to attract new ideas for how technology can transform caregiving for people with disabilities and others.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is launching a $2 million Caregiver Artificial Intelligence Prize Competition.
Through the initiative, the agency plans to fund innovative ideas that use AI to support both paid and family caregivers in providing care at home as well as ways to support employers in the caregiving workforce to strengthen efficiency, scheduling and training.
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“We’re calling on the engineers, scientists, innovators, entrepreneurs across the country to harness artificial intelligence to make caregiving smarter, simpler and more humane,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in announcing the new effort recently.
“AI can transform caregiving by delivering on-demand support, predicting health risks before they happen, monitoring wellbeing and automating paperwork so that caregivers can focus on what matters most: the care and compassion of the people whom they seek to help,” Kennedy said. “Our goal is simple — to create tools that are effective, safe and affordable for every American family that needs them.”
Nearly 1 in 4 American adults provide care to an adult or child with a complex medical condition or disability, according to a recent report from AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving. The groups found that most family caregivers are unpaid and their responsibilities often leave them struggling financially. In addition, many family caregivers say they feel isolated and have difficulty maintaining their own health.
Meanwhile, the workforce of paid direct support professionals has been in crisis for years with low pay leading to perpetually high turnover rates.
Mary Lazare, acting administrator for the Administration for Community Living and assistant secretary of aging at HHS, said that 10 awards totaling $2 million will be granted initially through the new AI competition, which will run for three years.
“The first year, these 10 awardees will be awarded and then they will move onto the next phase of scaling and developing their program. So in total, perhaps $5 to $6 million in prize awards,” she said.
The competition is expected to open in early 2026.
