An extended family is a family that extends beyond the nuclear family, consisting of parents like father, mother, and their children, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins, all living in the same household. Particular forms include the stem and joint families. When a child is removed from the home and placed
in out-of-home care, relatives are the preferred resource because this placement type maintains the child’s connections with his or her family. In fact, in order for states to receive federal payments for foster care and adoption assistance, federal law under title IV-E of the Social Security Act requires that they “consider giving preference to an adult relative over a nonrelated caregiver when determining a placement for a child, provided that the relative caregiver meets all relevant state child protection standards.”1 Title IV-E further requires all states to operating a title
IV-E program to exercise due diligence to identify and provide notice to all grandparents, all parents
of a sibling of the child, where such parent has legal custody of the sibling, and other adult relatives of the child (including any other adult relatives suggested by the parents) that the child has been or is being removed from the custody of his or her parents, the options the relative has to participate in the care and placement of the child, and the requirements to become a foster parent to the child. In Honor of Grandparents Day, a Look at a Collection of Statistics about Grandparents Who Live With Their Grandchildren
Statistics from the American Community Survey provide information on grandparents living with their grandchildren, including those who have primary care of them. These statistics help [PDF <1.0 MB]federal, state and local program managers understand the needs of this group and design programs for both generations.
2014 American Community Survey data released last year tell us who these grandparents are and how their numbers and profiles have changed since data on grandparent caregivers were collected in Census 2000. Are there more grandparents who live with their grandchildren now than in 2000?
The percentage of the population 30 years and older living with grandchildren has increased from 3.6 percent in 2000 to 3.8 percent in 2014.
A variety of factors may be contributing to this increase. For example, recent immigrants are more likely to live in extended family households. Births outside of marriage are associated with a mother and child more likely to live with the mother’s parent(s). Economic need leads parents to leave a child with a grandparent while they travel for work, and some race/ethnic groups are more likely to live in multigenerational households.
