Press Release

New Report: Grandparents and Relatives Raising Children Save U.S. $10.5 Billion but Pay a Heavy Price

Generations United’s 2025 “State of Grandfamilies and Kinship Care” Update calls for urgent investments to support caregivers who strengthen families, children, and the U.S. economy

For Immediate Release
October 16, 2025

Contact: Jaia Lent, Deputy Executive Director
202-289-3979 | jlent@gu.org

New Report: Grandparents and Relatives Raising Children Save U.S. $10.5 Billion but Pay a Heavy Price

Generations United’s 2025 “State of Grandfamilies and Kinship Care” Update calls for urgent investments to support caregivers who strengthen families, children, and the U.S. economy

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 16) – Across the nation, grandparents and other relatives are stepping in to raise children when parents cannot. These grandfamilies, also known as kinship families, are providing billions of dollars in unrecognized care each year. By keeping children out of the overburdened foster care system, they save taxpayers at least $10.5 billion annually, according to Generations United’s newly released report, The Costs of Caregiving: Why Supporting Grandfamilies & Kinship Care is Good for Children and Our Nation’s Economy.

But the report also makes clear: families taking on this responsibility are doing so at a great personal cost, often without financial, emotional, or practical support. 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 and kinship caregivers are saving the nation billions, yet too many are left to struggle on their own,” said Kristen M. Kiefer, executive director of Generations United. “When we invest in these families, children heal, caregivers thrive, and our nation benefits economically. We cannot continue to rely on their sacrifice without giving them the support they .”

Angela Clements, a grandparent caregiver from Wisconsin, explained, “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 helping our children heal and thrive, instead of constantly struggling to make ends meet.”

Key Findings from the 2025 Report:

  • Unrecognized Savings: Kinship caregivers save taxpayers at least $10.5 billion annually by keeping children out of foster care.
  • Financial Strain: Most caregivers step in unexpectedly, often on fixed incomes, sacrificing retirement savings and long-term financial stability.
  • Health Impacts: Caregivers frequently face chronic stress, depression, and physical health issues such as hypertension from the demands of caregiving.
  • Barriers to Support: Many families lack access to essential resources, such as financial assistance, housing, child care, and health care, because programs are .
  • Better Outcomes for Children: Children raised by kin, when adequately supported, fare better academically, emotionally, and socially than those in non-relative foster care.

Despite their proven effectiveness, kin caregivers remain under-recognized and under-supported. Gail Engel, a grandparent caregiver from Colorado, noted, “I have never felt heard, seen, or supported in any program. Overlooked and dismissed over and over… We saw to our grandson’s needs the best we could. Now that he is 18, the system is not there for him again.”

“Grandparents and other relatives have stepped forward at great personal cost to wrap children in the protective cocoon of family and prop up an overburdened foster care system,” Kiefer concluded. “It’s time for our systems and policies to recognize their contributions and provide the supports they need to help children and families thrive.”

Recommendations for Action:

Generations United calls on policymakers to preserve, strengthen, and expand supports for grandfamilies and kinship caregivers, including:

  • Ensure Access to Critical Health, Food, and Nutrition Benefits: Reverse cuts to Medicaid, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and preserve Medicare.
  • Protect and Strengthen Financial Supports: Improve adequacy of and access to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Social Security.
  • Expand Support Services: Increase access to kinship navigators, respite care, support groups, educational and legal services, housing, and mental health programs.
  • Improve Child Welfare Practices: Require caseworkers to inform kin caregivers of their care arrangement options and differences in benefits inside vs. outside of foster care.

The report also includes the most recent state-by-state data on the number of children being raised in kinship families. Read the full report and detailed recommendations at www.gureport.org.

About Generations United

For four decades, Generations United’s mission has been to improve the lives of children, youth, and older adults through intergenerational collaboration, public policies, and programs for the enduring benefit of all. We are the catalyst for policies and practices that stimulate cooperation among generations. Generations United houses the National Center on Grandfamilies and the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network, the only federally supported national technical assistance center on kinship families. Learn more at www.gu.org and www.gksnetwork.org.