The Costs of Caregiving: Why Supporting Grandfamilies & Kinship Care is Good for Children and Our Nation’s Economy
Introduction
“One thing that would make life better for grandfamilies and kin caregivers right now is access to consistent financial, emotional, and practical support, especially for supervised visits, mental health services, and daily living expenses. Many of us step in suddenly to care for children and shoulder all the costs, yet we are
saving the system billions. Having reliable support would allow us to focus more on supporting our children heal and thrive, instead of constantly struggling to make ends meet.”
About 2.5 million children across the United States are being raised in grandfamilies—families in which grandparents, other adult relatives, or close family friends care for children without their parents in the home. These families are also known as kinship families.
Our Report The Costs of Caregiving: Why Supporting Grandfamilies & Kinship Care is Good for Children and Our Nation’s Economy highlights the critical role these caregivers play in supporting children, families, and our nation’s child welfare system, as well as the challenges they face in doing so. The report finds that:
Grandfamilies save the government $10.5 billion annually by keeping children safely with family and out of foster care.
Despite this essential contribution, caregivers often step in with little warning, limited resources, and minimal support, sacrificing retirement savings, financial stability, and sometimes their own health.
Children in kinship care benefit most when families receive targeted support—financial assistance, mental health services, legal guidance, and other tailored resources—which helps children thrive and reduces the likelihood they will enter foster care.
Kinship and grandfamilies face systemic challenges that impact both children and caregivers, including:
Accessing financial, legal, and health care resources
Navigating complex behavioral and mental health needs
Obtaining respite and social supports for caregivers
Understanding and accessing benefits available through formal kinship foster care
While caregivers demonstrate remarkable strength and dedication, their needs are too often overlooked. Our report emphasizes that investing in supports for grandfamilies not only strengthens children’s well-being and stability but also benefits communities and the broader economy.
Key Facts & Findings
About 2.5 million children are being raised by a relative or close family friend and do not have a parent living in the household.
For every one child being raised by relatives in foster care, 19 more are raised by kin outside the foster care system, usually without the resources that come with formal foster care placements.
Grandfamilies save the government $10.5 billion annually by keeping children safely with family and out of foster care. See the calculations here.
Most caregivers step in unexpectedly, often on fixed incomes, sacrificing retirement savings and long-term financial stability.
Caregivers frequently face chronic stress, depression, and physical health issues such as hypertension from the demands of caregiving. Many families lack access to essential resources, such as financial assistance, housing, child care, and health care, because programs are unavailable to kinship families or not designed for them.
Children thrive in kinship/grandfamilies when they get the support they need. Children raised by kin, when adequately supported, fare better academically, emotionally, and socially than those in non-relative foster care.
Citations for the data points are available here.
“It was not easy for my grandmother to raise a child with serious needs while she was in her early 60s with little support. We need more support for grandparents like her who step up to care for us.”
— Shaheed M. Morris, Raised in a Grandfamily, New Jersey
Recommendations
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Preserve critical benefits for kinship/grandfamilies, including Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP/Food Stamps).
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Protect and improve access and adequacy of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) for kinship/grandfamilies outside of the child welfare system such as by increasing child-only grant amounts, addressing barriers related to child support collection requirements, and improving outreach and application processes.
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Increase supportive services and tailor programs for kinship/grandfamilies outside of foster care, such as kinship navigators, support groups, educational supports, respite care, juvenile justice resources, mental health, and legal services. Consider leveraging Social Services Block Grant, National Family Caregiver Support Program, and other federal, state, and local funding sources.
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Increase information and access to kinship foster care for families involved with the child welfare system by implementing kin-specific foster care approval, and requiring caseworkers placing children with kin to educate caregivers about their care arrangement options and the differences in benefits available inside and outside of foster care.
Generations United’s Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network Provides Assistance to Organizations and Professionals that serve kinship/grandfamilies.
Take Action
Help us make a difference for kinship and grandfamilies by getting involved:
Read the Full Report
Dive into the details of the 2025 State of Grandfamilies & Kinship Care Report and discover the challenges and solutions highlighted.
Advocacy
Join the movement to better support grandfamilies/kinship families.
Ask a Question
Have questions about the report or want to learn more? Reach out to us for more information.
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Acknowledgments
Generations United extends sincere thanks to all who made this report possible. We are especially grateful to the members of the Generations United team: Jaia Lent for authoring the report and Jamarl D. Clark for coordinating its development. We thank Ana Beltran, Chelsi Rhoades, Sheri Steinig, Fabiola Venegas-Ramos, Adina Wambua, and Robyn Wind for their invaluable support and contributions. A special thanks to Angela Clements, Gail Engel, and Shaheed Morris for sharing their stories. We also appreciate the expert insights from Steven Olender Beth Patton and Dr. Tyreasa Washington, ChildTrends. Six Half Dozen Design Studio designed the infographics. All photos are licensed stock photos.