Grandparent Families in the 2000 Census

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this study is to conduct a demographic analysis of grandparent households, focusing on differences in prevalence and characteristics of these households by race and ethnicity. As required by the 1996 Welfare Reform Act, the Census Bureau developed questions included in the 2000 Census of Population about grandparents who were responsible for their grandchildren living in the same household, allowing systematic national assessment of this issue for the first time. Based on these data, this project examines grandparent households that include no parents ("skipped-generation" households) as well as the much larger pool of grandparent households that include at least one parent ("three-generation" households). Four specific aims guide the proposed study: (1) To develop national estimates of the prevalence of grandparent households for race and national origin groups. This activity provides for the first time an assessment of the extent to which this behavior is occurring broadly across racial groups or, instead, concentrated in a few racial groups. (2) To profile the key household characteristics and resources within each type of grandparent household. This study examines the resource base and household characteristics of three-generation families, and the variation across race/ethnic groups in those features. In addition to financial resources, characteristics relating to disability status, labor force activity, immigration status and citizenship, and English proficiency are profiled. (3) To evaluate the resource balance of the oldest and middle generations within three-generation households. The resource balance is compared for households in which the grandparent reports responsibility for the child, and those in which the grandparent does not report such responsibility. The study provides evidence on how differences in the characteristics of the parents and of the grandparents (e.g., differences in work status, low income, disability) are related to the demographic features of the household and the characterization of responsibility for children. (4) To make available micro data files including data for grandparent families. Dissemination of the data to a wide range of researchers in the academic and policy communities will further advance the understanding of grandparent families.