A strong signal for state-level Caregiving Youth policy nationwide.
POLICY ALERT | JULY 17, 2026
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2324 into law on July 16, 2026, adding a new section addressing youth caregivers to the California Education Code. The bill was authored by Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez and passed the California Assembly and Senate without a single opposing vote.
The law defines a “youth caregiver” as a child or young person of an age typical of students in grades 9 through 12 who helps care for someone with an ongoing health problem or chronic illness, an older adult, or someone who is frail, disabled, or mentally ill.
At the next revision of California’s Career Technical Education Model Curriculum Standards, the California Department of Education must consider adding content on the role of youth caregivers within the Personal Care and Services career pathway.
By July 1, 2028, the department must also issue implementation guidance that may include:
- Skills specific to Personal Care and Services occupations, including in-home caregiving for household family members
- Training and course content related to direct support work and the care of older adults and people with disabilities or mental health conditions
- Consideration of risks involving mental and emotional health, social development, education, and physical health, along with referrals for support services
- A work-based learning strategy that may treat the family home as a viable learning location
- Eligibility for youth caregivers to earn credit through existing work experience education programs for care provided in the family home
The law does not automatically award school credit or create a comprehensive system of services for Caregiving Youth. It does, however, formally place young people who provide family care within state education policy.
Congratulations to Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez and the organizations that sponsored the bill: the Association of Regional Center Agencies, the California Association of Public Authorities for IHSS, and the California Association of Local Behavioral Health Boards & Commissions.
Why This Matters Nationally
Most public policy for family caregivers continues to assume the caregiver is an adult. California has now created a state-level policy model that recognizes Caregiving Youth, acknowledges both their skills and their risks, and connects family caregiving with career technical education, work-based learning, possible school credit, and referrals to support.
For the Caregiving Youth field in the United States, AB 2324 provides something concrete that advocates in other states can build on. Recognition in law is not the end goal, but it is an important beginning.
Read the full text of AB 2324: Vocational education: youth caregivers.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2324