Secretary Jason Kovulich of the Pennsylvania Department of Aging and Nathan Lampenfeld, special assistant, demonstrated the PA Care Kit — an online and printable resource for family and unpaid caregivers — at an informational session of the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee. The department said the tool was developed under the Aging Our Way PA plan and was completed as tactic 128 in roughly nine months.

The Care Kit is intended to help Pennsylvania’s unpaid caregivers locate services, plan care and reduce caregiver stress, officials said. The department reported 37,000 visits to the Care Kit in the first seven days after launch, an average session time of seven minutes and more than 1,000 completed “understanding your needs” quizzes during that period.

The Care Kit is a collection of tools, worksheets and targeted guidance organized around a five-step framework: understand your role, gather information, strengthen supports, make a plan and take care of yourself. "The Care Kit represents a successful completion of 1 of the tactics established through Aging Our Way Pennsylvania," Kovulich said. Lampenfeld said the site includes an 18-question quiz that produces a custom, printable guide and a calculated burnout score to help caregivers prioritize follow-up.

Why it matters: the department told the committee the site responds to an estimated 1,500,000 unpaid caregivers in Pennsylvania who provide an estimated $22,000,000,000 in unpaid services. The Care Kit is designed both as a standalone resource and as a funnel to existing services such as the Caregiver Support Program and PA Link, the state’s aging and disability resource connection.

Features described
- Online quiz and custom guide: An 18-question “understanding your needs” quiz leads to a tailored PDF guide, links to pages on the PA Care Kit and a burnout score. Users may provide an email to receive the guide. Lampenfeld called the quiz “probably the most exciting aspect of the care kit.”
- Printable materials: Officials said the site’s content is all available as editable or printable PDFs. The department is printing and distributing materials widely — officials said boxes of printed guides, worksheets, business cards with QR codes and folders are being shipped to public libraries, senior centers, area agencies on aging and adult day centers across the state.
- Worksheets and tools: The Care Kit contains 15 worksheets and checklists for tasks such as emergency preparedness, medication management, home-health hiring, long-term care comparisons and important documents tracking.
- Video library and partners: Short instructional videos (5–10 minutes) from partners such as AARP, UCLA Health, the PA Home Care Association and the Family Caregiver Alliance are embedded in the site.
- Accessibility and outreach: The department built the Care Kit on pa.gov for better search visibility and language access; it automatically enables browser-language translation and the department said it will conduct library and community center demonstrations and a formal media campaign.

Committee questions and links to other programs
Committee members asked about connections between the Care Kit and Medicaid-managed services. Representative Steve Menser asked whether the LIFE program should have a dedicated worksheet; Kovulich and staff said the adult-day worksheet is adaptable and that the Care Kit links to PA Link and the Department of Human Services page on LIFE for enrollment steps. Lampenfeld explained that clicking the LIFE link directs users to the DHS page and the independent enrollment broker for that program. The department said the Care Kit does not itself enroll users but funnels requests and information toward PA Link and enrollment brokers.

Representative Eric Nelson asked whether the Care Kit helps users prepare for Medicaid-related application processes (for example, providing required documentation and look-back periods). Lampenfeld and department staff said the site points to established portals such as Compass and summarizes the types of documents and timelines applicants should expect.

Usage and development process
Nathan Lampenfeld said the Care Kit was built from stakeholder engagement within Aging Our Way PA, which included more than 20,000 points of engagement and listening sessions in every county. The department ran a follow-up development survey with about 250 responses (roughly 90% family or friend caregivers) to validate content and refine tools. The department reported completing the tactic in about nine months and emphasized that the site will be maintained as a living product with regular updates.

What the department emphasized and next steps
Officials emphasized practical, concise language and tools to reduce jargon and meet caregivers "where they are," including caregivers who are new to the role, long-distance caregivers, dementia caregivers, working caregivers, grandparents raising grandchildren and youth caregivers. The department said printed materials will be available to legislators and community organizations, and staff offered to coordinate with legislative district offices for local events and material distribution.

The committee concluded the informational session after questions about program links and distribution. Department staff encouraged members to request printed boxes for local outreach and to direct constituents to the PA Care Kit and PA Link for further assistance.