There are nearly three million children – that’s two percent of all children – in this country being raised by their grandparents.
The number of children being raised by their grandparents has grown considerably in recent years, from 2.5 million in 2005 to 2.9 million in 2015.1 Although grandparents can provide support and stability in families, the increase in custodial grandparenting in the United States has primarily been driven by the inability of some parents to care for their children,2 and up to 72% of children raised by grandparents have been exposed to at least one adverse, traumatic event.3 In light of rising incarceration rates,4,5 the current opioid crisis,6 and the recent economic recession,7 children who enter nonparental kinship care face a unique living environment and complex relationships that can impact their long-term development.
