African American grandparents raising grandchildren: a national study using the Census 2000 American Community Survey.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this work was to determine the prevalence, sociodemographic characteristics, and service utilization patterns of African American grandparents raising grandchildren compared with noncaregiving peers.

METHODS: Data were obtained from the Census 2000 Supplementary Survey/American Community Survey, a nationally representative survey of 890,000 households. Analysis was based upon comparison of 2,362 African American grandparent caregivers aged 45+ with 40,148 noncaregiving peers. Gender-specific analyses also were conducted.

RESULT: Over 500,000 African Americans aged 45+ were estimated to be raising grandchildren in 2000. They were disproportionately female, younger, and less educated than noncaregivers and more likely to be living in poverty and receiving public assistance. Grandmother caregivers had significantly higher rates of functional limitations and poverty than either grandfather caregivers or other African American women aged 45+.

DISCUSSION: African American grandparent caregivers, particularly grandmothers, represent a highly vulnerable population economically. The finding that four-fifths of African American grandmother caregivers below the poverty line were not receiving public assistance underscores the need for improving program outreach and substance to better serve this population. The use of theories of intersectionality and multiracial feminism in future studies of grandparent caregiving should enhance our understanding of how the impact of race on gender varies by social class.