Who Are Family Caregivers?

According to estimates from the National Alliance for Caregiving, during the past year, 65.7 million Americans (or 29 % of the adult U.S. adult population involving 31 percent of all U.S. households) served as family caregivers for an ill or disabled relative.

Seven in ten caregivers are non-Hispanic White, 13 percent are African-American, and 2 percent each are Hispanic or Asian-American (National Alliance for Caregiving, 2009).

Estimates also suggest that the majority of caregivers are female. The percentage of family or informal caregivers who are women range from 59 percent to 75 percent, according to the Family Caregiver Alliance. While men also provide assistance, female caregivers may spend as much as 50 percent more time providing care than male caregivers (Family Caregiver Alliance, 2001). Nearly two-thirds of family caregivers are employed full or part-time (National Caregiving Alliance, 2004); they disproportionately come from lower-income households: 44 percent live in households under twice the federal poverty level, compared with one-third of non-caregivers (The Commonwealth Fund, 2005). Caregivers are equally distributed among urban, suburban and rural areas, however, caregivers in rural areas face unique challenges including limited access to primary and emergency health care, supportive services, and accessible transportation (Easter Seals and National Alliance for Caregiving, 2007).

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that approximately 5.7 million grandparents live with grandchildren in their households, and that 2.4 million of those co-resident grandparents are primary caregivers for their grandchildren, representing 42 percent of all grandparents residing with their grandchildren (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). Grandmothers constitute the largest proportion -- 63 percent -- of these caregivers, and African American families represent the majority -- 52 percent of -- all caregiving grandparents. In some disadvantaged neighborhoods, up to 20 percent of children have a grandparent or relative as their primary caregiver (Butts, 2005).

A large number of children and teens are also serving as caregivers for sick siblings, parents or aging relatives. Nationwide, there are approximately 1.3 to 1.4 million child caregivers who are between the ages of 8 and 18. Of the 28.4 million households that have a child 8 to 18 years of age living there, 3.2 percent, or 906,000 households, include a child caregiver (National Alliance for Caregiving, 2005). More than 8 million U.S. families include at least one parent that has a disability (Hendershot et al., 2002; McNeil 1993; LaPlante 1991).

Many caregivers of older people are themselves older adults. Of those caring for someone aged 65 or older, the average age of caregivers is 63, with a third of these caregivers in fair to poor health themselves (Administration on Aging, 2004).

Almost half -- 46 percent -- of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered elders provide caregiving assistance to families of origin or families of choice (National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute, 2005).

Estimates suggest that the number of caregivers will only continue to rise. Two-thirds of the U.S. public expects to be caregivers in the future, and 43 percent report that it is very likely that they will become a family caregiver at a future time (Opinion Research Corporation, 2005).

References

Administration on Aging (2004). National Family Caregiver Support Program (FCSP) Complete Resource Guide. Washington, DC: Author.

Butts, D. M. (2005). Kinship Care: Supporting Those Who Raise our Children. Baltimore, MD: Annie E. Casey Foundation. Retrieved November 2, 2010, from http://www.aecf.org/initiatives/mc/readingroom/documents/Kincare.pdf.

Commonwealth Fund (2005). Issue Brief: A Look at Working-Age Caregivers’ Roles, Health Concerns, and Need for Support. Retrieved November 2, 2010, from http://www.commonwealthfund.org

Easters Seals & the National Alliance for Caregiving (2007). Caregiving in Rural America. Retrieved November 2, 2010, from http://www.easterseals.com

Family Caregiver Alliance (2001). Selected Caregiver Statistics (Fact Sheet). San Francisco, CA:Author.

National Alliance for Caregiving (2009). Caregiving in the U.S. Retrieved November 2, 2010, from http://www.caregiving.org/data/Caregiving_in_the_US_2009_full_report.pdf

National Alliance for Caregiving (2004). Caregiving in the U.S. Washington, DC: Author.

National Alliance for Caregiving (2005). Young Caregivers in the U.S. Retrieved November 2, 2010, from http://www.caregiving.org/data/youngcaregivers.pdf

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute (2005) Selling Us Short: How Social Security Privatization Will Affect Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender. Retrieved November 2, 2010, from http://thetaskforce.org/downloads/reports/reports/SellingUsShort.pdf

Opinion Research Corporation (2005). Attitudes and Beliefs about Caregiving in the United States: Findings of a national opinion survey. Opinion Research Corporation.

Parents with Disabilities Online (2010). Retrieved December 14, 2010, from http://www.disabledparents.net/.

United States Census Bureau, (2006). 2005 American Community Survey: Tables S1001 and S1002. Washington D.C.: U.S. Census Bureau.