Kinship Caregivers: Health and Burden

Abstract

Grandparents and other relatives are raising more than seven million children in kinship care households in the United States. Kinship caregivers are increasingly sought out to provide care for children as a mechanism for preventing children from entering the formal foster care system. Kinship caregivers who were participants in the KinNET program were surveyed to assess their level of perceived burden, health, and experience in support groups. Satisfaction was high for the support groups and facilitators. The independent variables in the model account for 43% of the variability in the caregivers burden score. The effect of the number of hours of care provided is negligible in magnitude and statistically insignificant.

KEYWORDS:

• kinship caregivers
• health
• burden
• support groups
• foster care

Notes

Note. Percentages do not add to 100% in some cases because categories are not exhaustive or mutually exclusive.

Note. Scale: 1 = never, 2 = rarely, 3 = sometimes, 4 = often, 5 = nearly always..

Note. Model: R ² (adjusted) = .427.