How the Pandemic is Impacting Children and Families
More than 2.7 million
American children are
growing up in grandfamilies
-- families in which
grandparents, other adult
family members, or close
family friends are raising
children. A new report
highlights how the pandemic
has amplified their
unique challenges, and
offers solutions to better
serve them.
The report, “Facing
a Pandemic: Families
Living Together During
COVID-19 and Thriving
Beyond” authored by the
non-profit Generations
United and funded by the
Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation and Casey
Family Programs, points
out that at a time when
older adults are being
cautioned to keep their
distance from children
because of the heightened
risk of infection and
death from COVID-19,
for grandfamilies, that
distance is impossible.
Advocates point out that
these caregivers are the
first line of defense for
children during the pandemic,
having stepped in
when parents cannot raise
them for many reasons,
including cases where
children’s parents have
died from COVID-19. At
the same time, 30 percent
of kin caregivers lack an
alternative caregiving
plan if they should die or
become disabled, a troubling
statistic in the face
of the pandemic, which
disproportionately affects
older adults.
While grandfamilies
are diverse in geography,
income and race, the
report finds that caregivers
in grandfamilies are
disproportionally Black
or Native American;
nearly half of grandparent
caregivers are over
age 60; and one in four
grandparent caregivers
has a disability. These
are the same populations
that are more likely to be
impacted by the pandemic
and die as a result.
“While we’re all impacted
by COVID-19,
grandfamilies, especially,
have had tough realities,
with limited support
systems,” says Donna
Butts, executive director
of Generations United,
a non-profit with the
mission of improving the
lives of children, youth
and older people. “State
and local child welfare
and other agencies must
better support them
during COVID-19 recovery
and beyond.”
Federal, state and local
governments recognize
foster families and
provide them with access
to resources, but there is
little available for grandfamilies
raising children
outside of foster care.
While Congress included
support for grandfamilies
in the December
2020 COVID-19 relief
package, including better
access to kinship naviga
tor programs, which help
connect families to information
and community
support as well as provide
some direct help to families
to meet emergency
needs, advocates say this
isjustastart.
“With so many families
continuing to struggle
with impacts from
COVID-19, it’s critical
that state and local child
welfare agencies dis
tribute the funds in this
package,” says Butts.
“Congress also needs
to ensure families have
ongoing financial support
so that caregivers can
meet the basic needs of
children as they live with
the long-term impacts of
COVID -19.”
The report also finds
that about 19 percent of
grandparents responsible
for grandchildren live in
poverty and 38 percent of
grandfamilies are unable
to pay or are worried
about paying mortgage or
rent. Among the solutions
to these figures, Genera
tions United is calling for
grandfamilies to be specifically
named in the next
COVID-relief package
as an eligible population
for financial relief such as
Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF).
To access the report,
visit www.gu.org. To hear
grandfamilies discuss the
pandemic’s impacts, visit
everyfamilyforward.org.
While the pandemic has
heightened the inequities
different types of families
face, advocates say that
sufficient support can help
grandfamilies recover and
thrive.