Why This Matters
In 2023, about 2.4 million children in the United States were raised by grandparents, other relatives, or close family friends because their parents were unable to care for them, according to the most recent data available. Reasons children need another caregiver include parental death, substance abuse, incarceration, and other interrelated factors such as poverty.
Research has shown that when parents are absent, most children thrive best in kinship families, in which they are cared for by family members who can offer stability and continued connections to family, community, culture, and education.
We were asked to review issues related to kinship families. This report describes the characteristics of kinship families, how their challenges may have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, the resources they are accessing, and how the federal government primarily supports them.
Key Takeaways
- Kinship families are more likely than all families to be in poverty. Most children in these families are in households headed by grandparents, according to Census Bureau data. Grandparents raising grandchildren are more likely than the general population to have a disability and be out of the labor force. Children living with grandparents more often have physical and mental health issues and special education needs.
- A relatively small portion of children in kinship families are in foster care—for every one child in foster care, about 18 are not, according to Census Bureau and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) data. Families with children in foster care have access to financial and other resources that other families are ineligible for, if caregivers meet state licensing and other requirements.
- Challenges for some kinship families worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the cost of living and mental health issues, according to county and tribal officials and kinship caregivers we interviewed. Other challenges, such as the need for childcare and affordable housing, persisted.
- Resources for kinship families varied across the three counties and three Tribes in three states included our review. Officials from all communities told us about resources and supports for families with children in foster care, and resources that all kinship families could be referred to or find on their own.
- HHS has efforts that aim to raise awareness about kinship families, increase collaboration among service providers, and provide information and guidance about supporting kinship families. HHS also administers funds through various programs that states may use to support families.