Assessment is a critical step in determining appropriate support services. This article discusses "caregiver assessment," a systematic process of gathering information to describe a caregiving situation. Caregiver assessment identifies the particular problems, needs, resources, and strengths of the family caregiver and approaches issues from the caregiver's perspective and culture to help the caregiver maintain her or his health and well-being. Moving toward increased home and community-based care as an alternative to institutional care depends greatly on family caregiving. Practitioners must consider not only how the caregiver can help the care recipient, but also how the service provider must help the family. The success of most care plans--from hospital discharge to home--often falls to the family caregiver. If the caregiver becomes ill or can no longer cope with caregiving tasks, the care recipient suffers. If the strain on the caregiver becomes too great, care in the home can be seriously compromised, which in turn can lead to nursing home placement. Therefore, effective outcomes in settings such as hospitals and home or community-based care or nursing homes depend upon knowing the needs and risks of both the care recipient and the family caregiver. Because serious illness and chronic disability also affect the family, a person- "and" family-centered perspective is essential for quality improvement in redesigning long-term care. If patients are to be truly involved in person-centered care, their families must involve themselves. This is particularly important if the care recipient has dementia.