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Some related articles : Generations United releases data on grandparent caregivers Adoptive grandparents for single parents -Global Action on Aging |
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Census Tracks Grandparent Caregivers
Hunched on the living room floor in front of a Lego set, 5-year-old Michael Simmons turned and waved at his grandmother. ``Look, Grandma,'' he said, holding a newly built toy in hand. Pat Owens smiled and nodded approvingly. With Michael's parents out of his life, the 59-year-old Owens has joined the more than 2.4 million grandparents found by the 2000 census to be primary caregivers to a grandchild. It was the first time the once-a-decade count tracked such living arrangements. The closest the census had come in the past to addressing this issue was to estimate the percentage of children under 18 living in a grandparent-headed home. That was 6.3 percent in 2000, compared with 5.5 percent in 1990, 3.6 percent in 1980 and 3.2 percent in 1970. That data, however, did not cover how many of those grandparents were the main caregivers for their grandchildren. The 2000 census long form asked if a grandparent was responsible for ``most of the basic needs'' of a grandchild in the home. Yes was the answer from 42 percent of the nearly 5.8 million grandparents living with a grandchild. Figures showing the number of children in a grandparent-headed home in 2000, released last year, was based on data from all census forms as was the case for the data covering 1990, 1980 and 1970. Analysis of the additional data obtained from the long form used in the 2000 census was not available until recently. For Owens and many other grandparents, returning to the ``parent'' role is not what they had planned for at this stage of life. ``Did we envision raising him? No. It's very hard,'' said Owens, who lives in small town about an hour north of Washington that is best known for Camp David, the nearby presidential retreat. She took custody of Michael two years ago and has not heard since from his mother -- Owens' daughter. Owens said Michael's father has no contact with the boy, but recently started to provide child support. Grandparents often step in after a grandchild's parents lose contact or end up in jail, said Amy Goyer of the Grandparents Information Center with AARP, an advocacy group for older Americans. Others assume responsibility when a child's parents die or divorce -- leaving many grandmothers and grandfathers with unforeseen financial burdens. Owens says being able to watch Michael grow up in her own home -- and not a foster home -- is worth it. ``I don't want to make it sound like it's easy because there are some tough, tense times. But I'm very proud of the fact that all the grandchildren still play together and go to school together,'' said Owens, who has other grandchildren in the area. ``That is the most important thing.'' The census statistics are derived from the long-form questionnaire, a survey distributed to about one of six households in 2000. Other questions covered topics such as income, education and commuting. The majority of families with children are headed by married couples, according to data released last year from short-form questions asked of all U.S. residents. That percentage declined from 76 percent of such households in 1990 to 72 percent in 2000. The three-part long-form question on grandparenting was added to the latest census to comply with welfare changes passed in 1996. Many grandparents on limited incomes who are raising grandchildren struggle to support a young child. ``A lot of grandparents doing this are ready for retirement,'' said W.L. Smith, a 62-year-old retired government worker from Boise, Idaho, who has raised his 18-year-old granddaughter for the past 10 years. ``They are not prepared. It's a financial burden because of schools, legal battles they go through -- that's the biggest financial burden,'' Smith said. Percentages of such living arrangements were highest in the South and rural counties across the Midwest and West, and lowest in the Northeast, California and Hawaii. In many of these places, extended families and neighbors have long pitched in to help raise children in isolated communities, said Donna Butts, executive director of Generations United, an advocacy group for families where youth and elderly people live together. Wyoming and Oklahoma led states in the share of grandparents who served parental roles to grandchildren -- at 59 percent. It was lowest in Massachusetts, at 28 percent. Like many other census questions, responses are subjective. In this case, people may have different definitions of ``caregiving'' -- some consider it expending time and energy, others equate it to financial support, said Census Bureau analyst Campbell Gibson. Regardless, the sudden responsibility often results in stress, resentment toward their children, and messy family disputes that spill out into courtrooms, Butts said. A few states offer guardianship subsidies for grandparents and other relatives. Some grandparents also get assistance through the federal Temporary Aid to Needy Families program, which replaced welfare. ``What we really need is more financial assistance,'' said Nina McGonegal, who raises two grandchildren and runs a support group for others in her situation in Wilmington, Del. ``Everything I've put away (in savings accounts) I've used to raise the children.'' FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Action on Aging distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. 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