State fact sheets for grandparents and other relatives raising children

More than six million children - approximately 1 in 12 - are living in households headed by grandparents (4.5 million children) or other relatives (1.5 million children). U.S. Census 2000

data tell us that 2.4 million grandparents are taking on primary responsibility for their grandchildren's basic needs. Many of these grandparents have assumed this responsibility

without the parent of the child being in the home. These grandparent and other relative caregivers often lack information about the range of support services, benefits and policies they need

to fulfill their caregiving role. In an effort to remedy this situation, a group of child and aging advocacy and research organizations has prepared State Fact Sheets, which provide helpful

state-specific data and information for all the states and the District of Columbia. In a unique national partnership, the AARP Foundation, the Children’s Defense Fund, Casey Family

Programs’ National Center for Resource Family Support, The Brookdale Foundation, the Child Welfare League of America, and Generations United have compiled and released state fact sheets that

include: * Census data on the number of grandparent caregivers and the children they are raising * A comprehensive list of local programs, resources and services * State foster care

policies for kinship (grandparent and other relative) caregivers * Information about key public benefit programs * Important state laws * National organizations that may be of help Each

state fact sheet will be revised once annually, with approximately 12-13 states being fully updated each quarter. All state fact sheet updates should be sent to the AARP Foundation

Grandparent Information Center by email at [email protected], or by fax to (202) 434-6466. To access the Fact Sheet for a particular state, click on the state name below. Amy Goyer, National

Coordinator, AARP Foundation Grandparent Information Center Updated July 2006 May be copied only for noncommercial purposes and with attribution; permission required for all other purposes.

AARP, Knowledge Management, 601 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20049